I hate being hot!

[purrcycat]

I have read numerous reviews of the Caribbean Princess that mention too hot cabins. We have booked a cruise on this ship for May. Should I cancel and pick a different ship? I want to be comfortable at least when I sleep at night. Any opinions? Thank you.

[sirwired]

Every ship, which has 1,500 rooms, is going to have a few where the A/C is on the fritz. And every hall on every deck is going to have somebody who leaves the cabin and balcony door open for a while, which can suck out all the A/C for a whole block of cabins. (We did it by accident once for a few seconds and it turned the entire cabin into a wind tunnel...)

[Toto2Kansas]

The first thing I would do after reporting a non working AC is to walk down the hallway. You can usually hear it if your neigbors have left their balcony door open at night, as it makes a strange suction sound under their door. If you do hear some, that would be the cause in many cases, why other close staterooms cooling units are not working properly. And probably the reason that reports come in for certain staterooms, but the next passenger finds the room cold (different neighbors). I have read many reports here on CC from passengers saying that nothing is going to stop them from sleeping in their cabin with the balcony door left open so they can hear the ocean at night. And no matter how hard many of us try to explain that it effects surrounding cabins, they just don't care.

 

Best of luck, I hope you have neighbors that realize that little sign on the balcony door is put there for a reason. ;)

[Colo Cruiser]

Sailed the CB 3 times and no issues.

[Toddy709]

I hate being too hot, also. I don't think time of year has much to do with it. We cruise primarily around November/January. Even in Alaska we kept the air turned all the way down to the coolest setting 95% of the time.

 

I don't usually find the cabins too hot at night. The time that seems to bother me most is early evening when I'm trying to get ready for dinner. At times it has been miserable! I really don't understand why people feel the need to keep their balcony doors open. If you want to hear the water, sit outside. You're really not going to hear much if you're asleep!

[PatriciaF]

On other cruise line ships, if you leave the the balcony door open, the A/C or heat turns off. I noted that that was not the case on the Emerald last week. i confess that I was guilty of that infraction during the day!

[Iamcruzin]

We sailed on CB 4 times, twice in an obstructed view, once in an inside, and once in a balcony. The inside stateroom was cold and we actually raised the temp. The balcony was difficult to keep cool during the day because of the sun but it was ok at night. During the day you need to keep the drapes closed which in my opinion turns a balcony room into an interior. The obstructed view seemed to keep the perfect room temperature for us.

[tntfox]

I'm definitely guilty of leaving the balcony door open overnight. I love the sound of the water and the fresh air smell. I sure didn't realize it switched off an entire bank of cabins' AC! :o

[2Oregonians]

I'm definitely guilty of leaving the balcony door open overnight. I love the sound of the water and the fresh air smell. I sure didn't realize it switched off an entire bank of cabins' AC! :o

I'm glad I"m not the only one! I was reading this thread and feeling guilty, because we almost always sleep with the balcony door either wide open, or open a few inches. Makes no difference to me either way, but it's my husband who likes the sound of the waves and the smell of the ocean air. Many times I have noticed him missing and find out he's standing at the door or out on the balcony at 2,3,4 in the morning! He loves the sea! I had no idea it affected the a/c for surrounding rooms. There is a sign on the door? I've never noticed it! I do know it causes a wind tunnel if you have the balcony door open and also open your door to the hallway!! Been there, done that!

[Pam in CA]

Leaving the balcony door open screws up the HVAC for the cabins near you, including inside cabins. The A/C will attempt to adjust the temperature and the system is designed to compensate. Yes, there is a notice on every balcony door. I'll post a photo tomorrow.

 

I have never had a problem with A/C; I keep the privacy curtains closed and if there is direct sunlight, I also close the drapes partway as well. I do that at home in the summer when I want to keep it cooler inside; I also don't leave my doors and windows at home open when the A/C is on. Or when the heat is on in the winter. Why would I do that on a ship and then complain about the A/C?

[CEO of Caribe Deck]

The only place that was warm was the dining room during formal nights. I swear that they had the heat on to keep the ladies warm. We men had to suffer and confide amongst ourselves that this would be our final formal cruise.

[Minoushka]

Figure out which way you are sailing .Choose a cabin that does not get sunsets or pm sun That might help Keep your drapes closed ...THere nice and cool /.

I have the opposite problem Most times I find the cabins too cold

[ggprincess2004]

I hate to be hot also. We do not keep the balcony door open, if we want a breeze and the sound of the ocean, we sit out on the balcony. We also keep the curtains drawn at the time of day when we are getting direct sun. These two things make a big difference. But, that is sometimes not enough for me. Sooo......

I pack a small electric fan. It goes on the little table, and can be directed at the desk (which becomes my vanity) or the bed, etc. It stays on at night when I sleep. It works for me. Yes, we fly to our embarkation ports the vast majority of the time, and this means that addition to our usual one checked bag each (for a 7 day cruise) there is one more checked bag. Tough - I prefer to be able to stay very comfortable.:)

[Katie333]

Been on the CB twice and as others have said, it's more about your fellow passengers opening their door at night than anything else.

 

I realize many people don't notice the sign, or choose to ignore it. It's one of those situations where people do what's right for them. Of course, I also suspect that many people don't realize it's not just their own AC they are affecting but that of their fellow passengers.

 

Best bet is to keep your drapes closed when the sun is beating down on your balcony and turn the AC to its lowest setting. You can still outside at these times if you want to enjoy the balcony.

[Colo Cruiser]

I'm definitely guilty of leaving the balcony door open overnight. I love the sound of the water and the fresh air smell. I sure didn't realize it switched off an entire bank of cabins' AC! :o

 

 

It does not switch off anything, it mess's up the air flow/pressure in the area.

[VioletHorse]

We were on the CB in June in an obstructed oceanview room - no balcony and no direct sunlight and definitely no balcony rooms anywhere near ours (although I know the from personal experience that the open balcony door does affect the HVAC, and not in a good way). The lowest temp that we could get in the room was 76. That was ok for daytime but way too warm for my sleeping comfort. At around 10:30 each evening the little light on the thermostat in the room went out. It also went out at each sailaway from port. It looked like they needed the power allocated to AC to power the ship at times!!!

 

One morning in the HC it was like a steambath - we couldn't stay to eat.

 

At breakfast in the dining room (we chose to eat there for the rest of the cruise), the same topic of conversation came up each morning - room temps - different passengers in staterooms throughout the ship had the same complaint about rooms being too warm. Others also noticed the AC controls in the rooms being turned off each evening.

 

There are folks who like it warm but I'm not one of them. Although we had a great time on our CB cruise, I'd think twice about booking that particular ship again, especially for a warm weather itinerary.

[sirwired]

For those that leave their balcony door open:

 

It doesn't "switch off" the A/C. What it does is act as a huge vacuum that pulls all the conditioned air right out the balcony door. This also yanks conditioned air from the hallway and adjacent rooms. You'll feel quite fine because all that conditioned air is flowing through your room (and you'll have quite a breeze going.) Those in adjacent cabins will be toasty because all that conditioned air is being sucked out of their cabin. (The airflow rate goes too fast for the A/C to keep up.)

 

So please, out of consideration to others, don't leave the balcony door open. If you want sea noises, pick up a noise machine from Brookstone or any travel supply.

[Woobstr112G]

The first thing I would do after reporting a non working AC is to walk down the hallway. You can usually hear it if your neigbors have left their balcony door open at night, as it makes a strange suction sound under their door. If you do hear some, that would be the cause in many cases, why other close staterooms cooling units are not working properly. And probably the reason that reports come in for certain staterooms, but the next passenger finds the room cold (different neighbors). I have read many reports here on CC from passengers saying that nothing is going to stop them from sleeping in their cabin with the balcony door left open so they can hear the ocean at night. And no matter how hard many of us try to explain that it effects surrounding cabins, they just don't care.

 

Best of luck, I hope you have neighbors that realize that little sign on the balcony door is put there for a reason. ;)

 

Unfortunetely this is not always the case.....:(:(:(

 

Bob

[Toto2Kansas]

We were on the CB in June in an obstructed oceanview room - no balcony and no direct sunlight and definitely no balcony rooms anywhere near ours (although I know the from personal experience that the open balcony door does affect the HVAC, and not in a good way). The lowest temp that we could get in the room was 76. That was ok for daytime but way too warm for my sleeping comfort. At around 10:30 each evening the little light on the thermostat in the room went out. It also went out at each sailaway from port. It looked like they needed the power allocated to AC to power the ship at times!!!

 

 

The little light on the thermostat going out does not mean the AC/heat is also turned off. We noticed this years ago on a cruise, and if you watch it, it always goes off sometime after you adjust the temp. It is just made to show only for so long after you adjust the temperature. If you go back and adjust it again, the light will come back on. They do not shut down the AC or heat for power diverted on the ship to other areas. ;)

[VioletHorse]

The little light on the thermostat going out does not mean the AC/heat is also turned off. We noticed this years ago on a cruise, and if you watch it, it always goes off sometime after you adjust the temp. It is just made to show only for so long after you adjust the temperature. If you go back and adjust it again, the light will come back on. They do not shut down the AC or heat for power diverted on the ship to other areas. ;)

 

Actually we never adjusted the thermostat - we kept it at its lowest setting when we first embarked and did not touch it again. We would watch the light go out every evening (and stay that way for hours) at anytime between 10:30 and 10:45. The AC never went out, it just seemed that control of the AC was taken away every evening. Personally I like sleeping in a cool room - 68 to 70 degrees, so the room was warmer than what I am accustomed to.

 

Except for the HC, all the public areas of the CB were very comfortable. It was only the cabin areas that many passengers were complaining about.

[purrcycat]

Thanks for the information everyone.

 

I have only been on one cruise so far and it was on the Island Princess - the room temperature was perfect. So I will hope for the best on the Caribbean Princess. Although, I will definitely take a small fan just in case and be sure to close the curtains during the day. Oh, and I hope to have good neighbors as well!

[cruzinchris]

The only times that DH or I have thought our stateroom was a little warm is when we have an inside cabin. We are most likely to notice this during the day and will sometimes prop the door open when we are in the stateroom reading or watching TV. This provides some ventilation in the cabin with cooler air from the alleyway. In a balcony stateroom, we never leave the sliding door open during the night when we're asleep.

[Nylsor]

We live in the UK where the vast majority of homes do not have A/C ( central heating but not A/C) so if this question seems a tad stupid please be patient. I am not a lover of A/C as I find it makes my throat dry when I wake up in the morning. Perhaps it's because I'm not used to it. When we travel in Europe we always turn off the A/C at night and open the balcony doors. When we were on the Diamond I'm sure we were able to turn the A/C off altogether. And yes- I did open the balcony door a bit at night and no - I didn't see a sign.:o I'm sorry if I messed up. I also left the balcony door open one day when we rushed out and our steward did tell me not to as he was afraid insects might fly in (we were in SE Asia). He never ever mentioned messing up the A/C in adjoining cabins. If he had, we wouldn't have left the balcony door open at any time.

My questions are:

- can we turn off the A/C in our cabin?

- if we do can we leave the balcony door open without it affecting our neighbours?

[katmai]

I have a similar question.

We do not like AC and we preferred warmer room (80F+ is fine)

 

I would like to shut off the AC completely if possible.

On previous ships, I usually set the temperature to the highest, and sometimes it shuts off the AC completely without turning on the heater, in Caribbean or other warm destination.

 

Does it make a difference if the room temperature is set the same as or higher than the ambient temperature, so cold air will not be sucked out when balcony door is open at night? If the temperature is balanced between my room and outside, there won't be any airflow, and the AC in my room does not need to start at all.

I hope this will not affect the AC system.

[Pam in CA]

You can turn the A/C all the way up to the warmest but that doesn't turn it off. To my knowledge, there's no way to turn it off.

 

I travel with a small alarm clock that also has a temperature gauge so I know whether I'm crazy or not. http://www.llbean.com/llb/search?storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&init=1&freeText=travel+alarm

 

Here's a photo of the notice stuck on every balcony door I've been in on a Princess ship: