Window Suite vs Mini Suite on CB?

[trvlgrl64]

Hi,

 

The mini suite we were assigned to is forward on Dolphin, it looks to be a quiet area in terms of what is above/below. I have an odd hearing disability called hyperacusis, which makes my hearing more sensitive than most people (kind of like a dog ;).

 

It's possible that I might have the opportunity to upgrade to a Window Suite. The perks sound great - it would be nice to have the balcony but on our last cruise we did not (Family Suite on NCL) so that would be OK.

 

I'm wondering if anyone can advise the possible noise issues in the WS? I can see it is in a busy part of the ship but has its' own hallway. The Promenade is right above it, I could see that as an issue (although it wasn't on our NCL ship and we were in the same spot).

 

Thanks!

[cr8tiv1]

I am not noise sensitive so wasn't bothered by any noises. I've been in several Golden Window Suites. I didn't think there was a any noise from the public areas. I would opt for a higher dumber, like F309, F310, etc. less noise, smoother riding, more mid-ship. The private hallway keeps a lot of the noise away from the cabins. Never was bothered by the Promenade deck.

[Go-Bucks!]

We've had the Window Suite F311 on the Caribbean Princess and it was very quiet and peaceful. Never heard anything from above or in the private hallway. The only noise we had was from the stabilizers during a couple days of rough seas, but it wasn't bad at all.

 

We love this cabin and have booked it again on the Golden. Between the lovely room and the sweet suite perks, I think you'll love it as much as we do. :D

[montgomeryfamily]

We were in a WS 315 on the CB about a year and half ago, and, although we were in the suite next to the lobby, as long as the WS hallway door was closed on that side, did not find it to be noisy from people or music. (The WS area has its own hallway with doors which open on both sides.). The WS area near the elevator did seem to be noisy if the door on that end was not closed. So closing the doors was important.

 

However, part of the time there was an external noise which was horrendous. For a few hours on the first evening, there was a very loud, intense screeching noise about which we were told by guest relations was related to the stabilizers or not using the stabilizers (Guest relations reps were very vague). That noise ended during the first sea day and we did not hear it again until the last two days of the cruise, which were sea days. I didn't think it was possible, but the noise on those last two days was even worse. We could not even hear the TV at its loudest over the noise and sleeping, even with ear plugs, was extremely difficult. Guest Relations basically blew off the problem and speaking to the Mgr of Guest Relations did no good either. Our request to speak to the Hotel Director was denied (not available and appts supposedly not available) and our complaint submitted through the Let Us Know form was ignored. There was a small office next to the WS area in the lobby where a lady worked and we talked to her several times. She said that she was subjected to this noise often in her office and sympathized with our having to try to sleep through it, but she was in no position to be able to do anything re the issue as she was not part of guest relations. The noise was also quite loud in the Guest Relations lobby, so the Guest Relation reps knew our complaint was real (but the noise in the lobby was not nearly as loud in the lobby at the desk as it was in our suite or in the lady's office, both of which were against the side of the ship rather than more in the middle as was guest relations. We received no compensation and no explanation as to whether this was typical on the CB.

 

We have been in the same WS on the Golden and the Grand several times on the same itinerary and never had this noise issue. We complained after our cruise about this noise as well and never received any response or an explanation, even to our follow ups. We had already booked a future B2B cruise on the CB in this WS and waited until close to final payment time hoping to receive a response, but when we didn't, we cancelled both cruises. We actually still have a nine day cruise booked on the CB in a WS for this August and will cancel that one if we don't still get a satisfactory response.

Edited February 11, 2014 by montgomeryfamily

[Lady Arwen]

We were in WS F307 last January on the CB. The cabin was lovely with a wonderful bathroom. Very nice amenities, as well. However, the loud noise from the stabilizers was quite disturbing, especially during the night. We heard no noise from the hallway at all. It seemed to be much worse on the way to Aruba.

 

I doubt if I would book this cabin again, unless it was part of an upgrade/upsell.

[capriccio]

We were in WS F307 last January on the CB. The cabin was lovely with a wonderful bathroom. Very nice amenities, as well. However, the loud noise from the stabilizers was quite disturbing, especially during the night. We heard no noise from the hallway at all. It seemed to be much worse on the way to Aruba.

 

 

We were in F309 on the Caribbean Princess for a 12 day British Isles cruise last summer. Loved the perks, location, suite and bathroom and didn't miss the balcony (that's a very port intensive cruise).

 

On our second night from Guernsey to Cobh, Ireland we too experienced the stabilizer noise all night. It sounded like the ship was going to break in half (good thing we hadn't visited the Titanic sites yet or I really would have been a wreck :p). It was so loud it woke us up and my husband never got back to sleep (I did around 4 am). I never thought to complain about it (just assumed it was standard ship noises since no alarms were going off). Luckily that was the only night we heard anything.

 

I would consider a WS on a similar, port intensive cruise but I would remember to bring our ear plugs just in case!

Edited February 11, 2014 by capriccio

[Colo Cruiser]

Gotta have the balcony. :)

[todd-r]

Just got off the CB in F307 and experienced the same wrenching noise on sea days. In fact, I woke up at 3am one day and could not get back to sleep. .

 

If you are looking for an upgrade, on our cruise, people in mini-suites were offered a paid upsell to a full suite for $299 per person. When we learned this, we called our TA who called Princess to see if we could UG from a window suite to a full suite. Unfortunately, she was told no UG's were being offered (paid or otherwise) from our category (WS). Of interest, once onboard, we walked to all of the full suites and found 7 that were sailing empty. Yield Management amazes me sometimes!

Edited February 11, 2014 by todd-r

[sminfiddle]

Of interest, once onboard, we walked to all of the full suites and found 7 that were sailing empty. Yield Management amazes me sometimes!

 

How did you determine they were empty (and hadn't just removed their name card)?

 

 

 

~sent using Cruise Critic app~

[Colo Cruiser]

How did you determine they were empty (and hadn't just removed their name card)?

 

 

 

~sent using Cruise Critic app~

 

Lots of people remove their nametags

[todd-r]

How did you determine they were empty (and hadn't just removed their name card)?

 

Seriously, do you think that people in 7 full suites all removed their name cards?

 

They were showing open in Polar 24 hrs prior to sailing. We also went to the front of the ship and looked into the balcony of the 2 forward facing full suites and there were no signs of life (i.e., balcony furniture was all stacked up).

[ggprincess2004]

I want to thank the people on this thread. I never would have thought to question the noise level in a WS on the CB, as our window suite on the Grand was quiet and delightful. However, the reports of stabilizer noise on the Caribbean were most helpful, as I am quite sensitive to vibration and loud noise, and would have probably gotten a severe migraine from it. I was able to find a vista suite for our sailing and changed to that. I would have been miserable with that noise! Thanks again!!!!:D

[Coveguy4]

Good to know about the noise. I've had a WS twice on the Golden and loved it. I have a mini booked for a 7 day in April on the Carribbean and was considering upgrading to a WS. I think I'll keep my quiet balcony in the mini instead.