Share memories of your worst cabin?

[gracecarmo]

I would say that the worst was on the Norway, Atlantic deck, in one of those rooms that had a double and upper. We actually were downgraded for some reason at the last minute, and I guess we were too green to complain. Could not tourn around. We loved going on the grand dames of the old ships, the Norway being the SS France.

Another was on the defunct old Gripsoholm,the Regent Sea, nice big room, but plumbing problems.

Then there was the old Nieuamsterdam: huge room in the hull, heard anchor banging and waves all night.

Now, we only travel in good upper class rooms, and this is after paying our dues: 30+ cruises later. Only way we love to travel now. Would love to try the QE2 and QM2, but after the Summit, I think we are spoiled.

Grace

[smoothdancer]

I am on the side of the fence that has chosen to cruise less frequently, save up my $'s and book a suite. We have sailed in mini suites, grand suites and next up a royal suite on the Mercury. Some have been nicer than others, but I could not call any of them a dissapointment.

 

Our first cruise was about 20 years ago on Carnival. We sailed in an inside cabin, myself, husband and 2 boys. I guess you would think that this would have to be our worst cabin, but believe it or not, it wasn't. Back then we had absolutley no money to vacation and had not taken a vacation in many years. Some how I scraped together the dollars and booked this cruise. It was so long ago but I still remember the first night on the ship, and how I just could not believe that we were actaully on a cruise ship. I felt like royality, inside cabin and all. I remember the four us laying on the cabin bunk beds watching Forest Gump(!!!, just came out) and ordering BLT's from room service. To this day after many cruises, nothing can compare to that first cruise. It still remains as one of my fondest memories, even after the kids are now all grown, with kids of thier own......

 

My take... I just dont have a "worst" cabin!

 

Janet

[kitty9]

It's a tie between the very first cruise on Carnival's Festivale in the early 70's and the Norway in the early 90's. Tiny, tiny with bunk beds on the Festivale and a bathroom so tiny that all you needed to do was sit on the loo, turn the water on in the shower and lather up. The second was on NCL's Norway. Just all around bad ship and cabin with smelly rooms, threadbare carpet and some kind of mold around the window.

[Happy ks]

Carnival Ecstacy, category 6A, but I don't think it mattered. The whole ship was the ugliest ship I'd ever seen. Well, OK, maybe not the ugliest ship, put ugly for a cruise ship. On the second day, I told my DH I was going back to the "camper" and I meant it. It makes me feel like a terrible snob to say it and I'm sure there are beautiful campers out there. This whole ship made me feel like I was trailer trash. From time to time, I will read a review about the Ecstacy and the poster will comment on how beautiful the ship is, I just don't get it. Plastic and neon everywhere, yuck.

 

Add to this the bunks (we were 4 in the cabin) were cracked along the frames and we were afraid to let our kids sleep in them, lest they break off and fall on us. We did report it, they came promptly to repair the bunks, then left the sawdust all over the floor until that night, it was cleaned up during our late dinner seating. The mattresses all sagged, DH ended up putting his mattress on the floor to sleep. I have never before, or since, wanted to get off a cruise ship so fast, 4 days was too much.

 

I read all the time about how the newer Carnival ships are so much nicer, but when I look at the pictures, the photos of the cabins are still the same as the one we hated so much. Please don't tell anyone who loves to cruise Carnival I wrote this.

[mr green]

:mad: Our worst cabin was an inside cabin on the Norway.It was very close to the bow, and to get to it we had to cross a passageway, that was used by the crew to bring in all the supplies from shore. It was devoid of carpet, and usually damp, at first we could not find our cabin, since I thought that it was 'No passengers beyond this point area'! It was not on our deck plan, but it did have one saving grace, it was HUGE, but the plumbing looked like 'Olde English! It had one other feature, an automatic 'wake up system'. Promptly at 6.30am each morning, some crew member would commence banging, on pipes below our 'Hole in H---'! I am happy that the ship is now out of service,but,I deeply regret the cause of her demise with the loss of lives. Our best cabin? A veranda on the Coral Princess. One final point. On my 'comment card' as we left the Norway, I let the know that, had this been our first cruise, it would have been our last! Further I told them that in my opinion she should be 'Put to sleep'. john taylor.

[cruisinjudy]

Worst cabins were on my first two cruises, insides at the bottom of the ship. One on SS Independence situated between a stairway and an elevator. It was very noisy until all of the drunks had settled down, but we loved that cruise! The other was on Song of Norway, and we heard noises all night, we barely slept. I don't know what those noises were, but I prefer being a little higher on the ship, and now only book balconies. Then there was the cheapest category on Sovereign of the Seas. That one was very small for three people. it was also at the bottom of the ship, but I guess they built them a little better by then as we didn't hear noises at all.

[alpal1993]

My worst room was on The Nordic Empress.The cruise was fabulous.so I'm not complaining.It was very comical.DH and I like the beds together,but when they did this one side was on the wall so I had to climb over DH to get out of bed.We also had received an Anniversary package from my Mother.They had streamers and a big paper heart hanging from the ceiling.Dh hit it every time he moved around the room.Needless to say it didn't remain up very long.

[akur23]

On our Meridien trip, there was a horrible noise above our cabin. It sounded like a loose rolling mop bucket. Every time the ship moved a little, it would roll across the floor and bang against the wall. This happened at sea and at port (we were docked in Bermuda for 3 days). We had several staff people come into the cabin, but despite we could hear the noise, they all claimed not to hear it. The ship was full and they could not change our cabin. We didn't sleep for a week! :mad:

[rainbowgc]

On the Westerdam we had a room right above the main entertainment room.

GRRRRRR. Exercise 1st thing in the morning, dancing til midnight. We never got any sleep, no naps. We heard every bingo call, every joke, all the music. I always, always check what is above/below our room now!

 

Erika

[DUCK33]

i can honestly say i never had a bad cabin or cruise. some are better than others especially as you become more cruise savy but each had its own qualities. that said my least favorite cruise was probably crystal's symphony. it wasnt a "bad" cruise we enjoyed ourselves but not quite my personal cup of tea. i would do it again ....if i won a cruise in a contest or something.

[bpear1600]

The first cabin we ever had was Viking 020 on the Norway in 1980. It was smaller than some closets in our house with two bunk beds and was close to the bow of the ship. Who cares? That was one of the best cruises we ever took!

 

In our seven Norway cruises we only had one bad room and it was located right outside the entrance to the larger dining room. The noise around midnight with people going to the buffet was deafening.

 

The absolute worst cabin we ever had was on the Sovereign of the Seas the first year it sailed. It was small and noisy and not one of the cheaper rooms. That was one disappointment of a ship and probably challenges the Norwegian Majesty as the most unappealing ship we have ever been on. We had a suite on the NM and it was shabbier than a cheap motel room.

[madforcruising]

Speaking of worst cabins, The worst I ever had was on the Delta Queen. Don´t get me wrong it was a great cruise, but the cabin was my worst so far.

It was the lowest category and had two beds one lower, one upper. The sink was in the room, but it had a separate shower and toilet. The width of the cabin was width of bed plus a small walkway to the back of the room where the toilet and shower was located. There have been only three drawers and let´s say about 20 inches of hanging space without a door in front.

 

But what do you think about these cruise ship cabins???

 

 

They have 90 square feet and you have to clean them by yourself. Start sailing in 2005.

[katiel53]

Our worst cabin was on the Carnival Mardi Gras. We had an inside room, the bathroom was so small we could sit on the john and take a shower at the same time. Every time we took a shower, the water remained on the floor. When taking a shower before breakfast, it was still there after breakfast. If we had to use the john, we had to take off our shoes as the water didn't drain for hours. The extra rolls of toilet paper were on a holder near the ceiling. Every time one of us took a shower, the water hit the extra roll and swelled up like a balloon. The room itself was so tiny and in one corner was the bathroom sink, the same size as those on an airplane. We didn't go on Carnival again for many many years. Wow, that was almost 20 years ago!

[idssms]

Sometime during the mid 80s we took a 4 nighter on the old Oceanic purchased by Premier Lines.

 

Wife woke up at night to go to the bathroom, turned light on and screamed really loud.... Huge roach running around on the floor,, the kind you can saddle and ride.

 

I killed it, called the housekeepers, showed it to them. They provided me with a bottle of Mateus the next day.

 

Never used Premier again after that episode and wasnt into photography then so "no pics to show", ,sorry.

 

idssms

[TWELVEOHONE]

Had an inside cabin on the lowest deck on RCI Song of America.

 

My closet at home is larger than this cabin. Walls were so thin I could hear everything happening next door.

 

That was my first and last inside cabin

[doree]

Katie.....OMG.........we were on the Carnival Mardi Gras on our honeymoon way back in 1976!!!!!!! We had a cabin w/ a window, but the bathroom was so small and it flooded!!!! LOLOLOL Carnival was the only cruise line that left on Sunday's "way back when"!!!!!!! LOLOLOL

 

Our worst cabin was on the Millie..........9151........I have posted about this many times. It was right below the galley!!!!!!!! All night long, every night, it sounded like a baseball bat hitting our ceiling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It would start and stop, so you were "afraid to go to sleep" b/c you knew as soon as you did it would start!!!!!!! Needless to say, there were MANY phone calls from our cabin to the Hotel MGR on the ship!!!!! The next to the last day they offered to "move us to another room". NOOOOOOOOOO After about 2 mos of MANY phone calls to Celeb....they gave us a small credit. We were already booked on our next cruise. Big of them, HUH???????????

 

We still love Celeb and are going on our next cruise in Jan.

[Blazerboy]

In '93, I had a cabin on the old Golden Princess, which Princess had just purchased from Royal Viking, I think, and, according to my agent had "dumped milions in to renovating." Not one thin dime went towards my cabin, however, and the only reason it was large enough was that my partner didn't come at the last minute. Dirty, small, drab and uncomfortable. Like most Princess ships, the cabins started in the A's: I think this cabin was a double "Z". On the other hand, if you told me I'd have as much fun as I did, I'd probably sign up for it again.:D And I'm not trashing Princess- this Spring we were in a mini-suite on the Sun, and had the NICEST bathroom of any ship ever(nicer than a penthouse stateroom on Crystal!)

 

Last year on the QE2 we had a Princess Grille Cabin, which was really lovely. We made friends with a woman traveling alone who was in an inside single. She kept on saying how small her cabin was, and we didn't believe until we saw it. It truly was smaller than our walk in closet in our stateroom. To open the bathroom or closet doors, you had to be ON the bed. With her suitcase open on the floor, there was no other floorspace in the room. She could practically flush the toilet with her foot without getting out of bed.:eek: We all laughed the rest of the way across the Atlantic, and joked about renting her our closet as an "upgrade." I told her at the end of the cruise how much fun the nightlife was with her, and that she must be a real partier, and she said she was really an early to bed type, but given the choice of staying up late or that cabin, she'd rather stay up late! What a hoot she was. And, again, I think she'd do it again for all the fun! She's definitely a take-lemons/make-lemonade type of person.

[holomuku]

What a great topic....

 

In the mid-80's there was a one day cruise (about 12 hours I think) out of San Diego -- can't remember the name of the ship but I think it stopped in Ensenada but couldn't swear to it. We lived in San Diego at the time and if it did stop there we wouldn't have gotten off, having been to Ensenada many times.

 

At any rate- my then boyfriend (now DH) wanted to take me for a one day cruise for our birthday. (yes, we have the same birthday- although I am younger by a few years it is the same date). At the time I had no cruise experience (he did) so didn't know what to expect.

 

Being a one day cruise, some people didn't even get a cabin. He said he wanted to book a cabin so we could take a nap or whatever. When we got to the cabin- oh my gosh- what a closet!! It was in the middle of about eight or nine cabins (no window, inside) and had bunk beds. The shower was a hand held spray nozzle that you used in the bathroom- from what I could tell you'd have to be sitting on the toilet when using it. I tried to make the best of it since it was just a place to "hang our hat" for the day and didn't complain. He seemed pretty unhappy about it but I didn't think it was all that important. He's a pretty mellow guy and I was a little surprised he was upset about the size of the cabin...I mean it's only a day trip, so why get upset?

 

I am 5'4" and when I sat on the bed my feet could touch the opposite wall- I mean it was TINY. Since my DH is 6'3" it became apparent that the cabin wasn't going to be very comfortable. Somewhat to my surprise, he went to the pursor and asked if we could upgrade to something larger (He was expecting and willing to pay an extra charge) and voila!! Maybe it was because he told him it was our birthday and a special occasion- but he moved us at no charge to a beautiful cabin that had a sitting area, double bed, large picture window (I don't think anyone had balconys on that ship). I'm guessing it was a suite or equivilant for the time.

 

We wandered about the ship, listened to some entertainment and such, then I won $100 at bingo so the day was going well for me. Then when we went back to our cabin, enjoyed the view from the window, had some great conversation....and then he proposed. Quite the birthday, don't you think?

 

We still laugh about that original cabin and I wonder if he would have popped the question had we stayed in the "coffin cabin" as we refer to it now. It was certainly not the place you'd want to get romantic! I've always assumed the proposal was his intent when we got on the ship and can only imagine his panic when he saw the cabin. No wonder he wanted to make the change...... I've never asked for details because after all- there are some things you don't need to know.

 

We'll be married 19 years next May so -- alls well that ends well. We've been on several cruises the last few years and are planning on doing something special for our 20th anniversary- of course it will be a cruise!

 

Thanks for the memory!

[waylook]

about 15-20 years ago, my family sailed on Carnival's Mardi Gras (on the rocks). It was run down and dank.

[cruisepest]

We had a ocean view room on the N. Wind to Hawaii, the only problem was it smelled so bad of diesel fuel in the room and the hall around or room we did not dare light a match. That was the worst, as was the lack of service and total lack of concern from the staff that we will never cruise on NCL again. The only other problem we had was on the Ocean Princess was that the life boat under our cabin moved and would knock on the floor under or cabin which made a terrible noise, one quick room change and all was fine.

[worldclasscruizer]

was on the Carnival Festivale!! This was back in 1988 or so. Three girlfriends and myself booked this cabin, an inside one, and the travel agent told us it was a larger one on the end of the ship. We were 19 at the time. It turned out to have only 2 twin beds...so the steward wheels in two more cots..the sink was in the cabin itself, and the toilet and shower were in the bathroom..you could shower while on the bowl!! We had no room to walk, it was wall to wall beds..we had to kneel on the one cot to brush our teeth!! We complained to Carnivale, but they had no other cabins..they gave us a bottle of Champagne and 100.00 off our next cruise!! Could you imagine?? Never cruised with them again!! I wrote a letter when we got back, but never received a response. We still had an awesome time..very memorable!! I wonder what ever happened to that ship???:confused:

[sunkey1]

OK, I have a combo of a lot of the other complaints. The only time I've ever traveled on a guarantee was about 20 years ago. I went on the Norway with my Mom and we were assigned A001. This was the furthest forward cabin on the lowest passenger deck. The morning we got to St. John at about 5 am they dropped the anchor and Mom and I not knowing what it was honestly thought the ship had crashed. Talk about a rude awakening! It lasted about 15 minutes and we got to hear that every time we arrived at or left somewhere. It was also the smallest cabin I've ever been in, upper and lower and not much else. Also the "sit on the toilet and shave your legs at the same time" scenario. Needless to say I haven't traveled on a guarantee since. Honestly though, I loved the Norway, sailed on her maiden voyage and about 10 times after that. It was hard seeing her age though, just as some of don't age well, she was not maintained at the end as well as she should have been. When she first started sailing in 1980 she set a standard that set the bar for others. I'll always have fond memories of her.

[Ships R Great]

Our worst was on the Zenith November a year ago. thanks to Danno we booked the last aft cabin next to a "private deck". Only Danno booked deck 10. We were on 9, just over the disco! What a nightmare! Noise till 1-2 AM. But the ship did give us a key to another cabin mid-ship that had no noise. They told us we could sleep there and keep our aft cabin for day. Plus, a nice bottle of wine, with fruit for our trouble.

BTW, we sailed the Norway on Atlantic deck. Our cabin had tow (!) double beds, two easy chairs and enough room to house a frat party. We were right next to the dining room. No noise. It was a great cabin. She was a beautiful ship, but the food was wful!

[cruisinsince75]

1975 on the Carnival Mardi Gras on our very first cruise. Inside cabin with one lower bed and one upper berth. Cabin was so small that the toilet was inside of shower. :eek: You think I am kidding but I'm not!!! You opened the shower curtain and there was the commode in the shower!!! Current also wasn't correct, so to blow dry your hair, you had to go to a special room down the hall.

 

Of course at the time, being just 22 years old, my wife and I thought we were on top of the world. For $399 each we flew non-stop RT from LAX to MIA on National Airlines, got a hotel room at the Miami Holiday Inn for a couple of hours after the red-eye flight, had a week long Caribbean cruise with the typical stops of Nassau, San Juan, and St. Thomas, and all of our meals were included.

 

Truly a Budget Cruise!!!

 

Don

[zackiedawg]

The ship was the Carnival Mardi Gras...yep, another one on the Mardi Gras! I was 14 and my parents decided it was time to bring me on my first cruise...western route 7 day. Also along for the cruise were my two older stepbrothers, 16 and 19. The 5 of us had booked a room described as 'family accomodation'.

 

The Mardi Gras was a very small ship by modern standards, and an older ship (porthole rooms, raised bulkheads, steel oval bulkhead doors, etc). But for me, it was amazing and huge. Until we were shown our 'family' cabin. It was an INSIDE stateroom...OK...no big deal. But it was also 2 side-by-side beds with overhead bunks...and 3 1/2 feet between them. the beds were 2 inches from the open door and another foot to the bathroom door. Opening the bathroom door revealed a single, small room with a toilet along the side wall, a shower knob next to it, a sink across from it, and a showerhead above it. Yep...you could sit on the toilet and shower.

 

For the 5 people staying in the room, thay rolled a cot in between the two lower beds at night...and it fit with millimeters to spare. Making the bottom two beds connect in the middle, and making the room essentially all matress. The bunkers had to drop down onto the cot to get to the bathroom.

 

That first night once we all figured out what kind of origami was required to get the 5 of us changed, showered, and in bed...we discovered another interesting twist about our quaint room: It was one floor down and directly under the disco floor. The whole room reverbrated with pounding feet, and from the upper berths you could feel the ceiling moving. Fortunately, we were usually in that very disco until nearly closing time, so we were able to pass out fairly easily once back to the room.

 

Back then, the rules of drinking onboard were more, um, relaxed than nowadays. So my 19 and 16 year-old brothers had no problems ordering drinks anywhere on the ship - no IDs required. It was a bit more surprising to learn that my 14-year-old self also had no problem ordering drinks. Well I had a lifetime of alcoholism all wedged into a single week of my 14th year...I drank everywhere and stayed up so late that I was actually given a "nightowl" pass...a sticker you wore when up late to get discounts on drinks because you had proven to be such a partier.

 

Somehow we were all happy in that tiny cabin on that tiny ship (well maybe not my parents, experienced cruisers...but the boys were having a ball). At least until my stepbrother got sick from drinking and threw up in the cabin. Well that was day 2...and that smell never went away! My other brother and I actually slept on deck several nights...fully dressed at poolside. We'd get woken up by either sunlight and heat, or angry sunbathers who wanted our chairs by the ever-crowded pool! How the others could ever stand the odor in there, I'll never know.

 

It was my first cruise ever. Was it bad? Looking back, it was a horrible room. But the fact is I became so enamored with cruising from that experience that I've been going every year since!