Caribbean Princess winches

[Grego]

There are actually quite a few cabins on ships that experience significant noise, from full suites to insides. Such as under the gym, under public deck, with a tender outside the window, next to an elevator shaft, above the stage of a lounge or Princess Theater, directly above the thrusters or stabilizers, etc. How would you disclose or rate all of these possible noise problems? Some people sleep through them and aren't bothered. Others are disturbed.

 

A ship is mechanical and there will often be unexpected noises. Could Princess do something about them? Maybe. Often there's little that can be done. Even if you book a GTY at the last minute, you can always change to a cabin in a different location as long as one is available. Usually, you're not "stuck" with that cabin.

 

If you book directly with the cruise line, you assume responsibility for cabin selection and knowing these ins and outs. That's why it's always a good idea to have a competent TA knowledgeable about Princess.

 

I agree with Pam.....oh what a surprise! I always use our Princess Cruise Vacation Planner at Princess to book our voyages. Might be a little more than a volume TA discounter sometimes, but Melissa also has the inside information about which cabins to book and any special pricing.

[RDC1]

Thanks everyone,

 

likeadisguise:..........Regarding obstructed and unobstructed windows......these choices do not determine whether you will be woken from sleep several times each and every night. Neither do obstructed or unobstructed windows wake you at 05.30 for a 07.00 docking with heavy engineering noises which cannot be ignored.

 

I would perhaps dispute that these categories of cabin are not totally objective as there are degrees of obstructed views. This is why there are many discussion forums with members pictures of cabin windows,so that people can see what level of obstruction they are happy with if they have a choice of/been able to choose their cabin.

 

Of course noise is different...as some would enthusiastically enjoy being serenaded by Cliff Richards and this would be torture to others. These passengers may want nothing more than to listen to Eminem, whilst the Cliff Richards fan club would be horrified by the noise of rap...........however extremes of noise are recognisable, as the hotel manager admitted, and occur in some (our) cabins and therefore should be given different cabin categories and passengers alerted to this 'feature'.....That is why we have measures of sound, decibels, to measure and determine safe levels of noise. My original query was very specific in that I was asking for any information on how many winches and the decibels of sound these would produce.

 

steelers35:........I agree that this is unlikely to happen too as Princess will keep selling these cabins if they also keep quiet about the noise issues.

 

My original and subsequent posts also explained why we took a late availability.....and anyone who has experienced university in very recent years will understand about degree awards and graduation ceremonies. Frankly I am amazed that because we decided to do something spontaneous for our daughter as a congratulations to her for doing well on a very demanding course that somehow we are to blame for Princess' less than transparent marketing. It must be a very sorry life indeed for those people who have no spontaneity in their lives or think that hard work by one's children doesn't deserved recognition.

 

ratherbtruckin:..........couldn't have put it better myself and you obviously actually read my posts and then used very interesting and funny examples to illustrate my point. The analogy I would have used is buying something on Ebay where the seller has been economical with the truth and the buyer has no right to return the product as they 'allowed' the buyer to fleece them as they were purchasing the product at a lower price than at a regular high street retailer....but yours are much,much better! Thanks for your understanding

 

Pam in CA: Please read my original post....we did not have a choice of cabin therefore we could not 'assume responsibility' for the cabin.

 

Likewise.....please read my original post.....there were no other cabins until Bergen,our last port of call and this was not offered to us until the following day, our last day on the ship.

 

Your comment regarding an experienced TA with a good knowledge of Princess is hardly the point is it? Princess are responsible for the product they sell and not the TA. It should not be a case of being 'in the know'but rather transparency and confidence by Princess in the product it is selling regardless of whichever platform it uses for those sales.

 

Thanks again to everyone for their input and if there is anyone reading who can answer my original questions I would be so grateful.

 

I believe the point that most are trying to make, that if you book GTY (do not book a specific cabin number), then you are taking your chances on the cabin you get and all ships have noisy cabins. A number of people book early just to make sure that they get the cabin they want and avoid such problems.

 

An example of such cabins is anything close to the anchors, anything close to the doors used for tender loading or unloading, cabins next to the tenders during tender lowering or raising, Inside cabins directly over the stage on C deck (two decks of empty space to hold stage scenery and as such you have a few cabins that get quite a loud impact even being two floors about the theater).

 

Bottom line is that on any cruise ship there are noisy areas and if you book GTY you have a fair chance of getting one. If you are concerned about noise, never let the cruise line assign a cabin. Research and pick your own. If you do not have a choice, then don't be surprised.

 

Of course even if you do all of the research you can still get stuck with noisy, obnoxious neighbors.

 

The noise starting an hour before docking was probably the bow thrusters. Might have also been some noise related to the cable lockers.

Edited September 6, 2015 by RDC1

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...About an hour or so before berthing we would be woken by a thunderous noise that engulfed the cabin and this would continue until the ship had been secured...

 

My guess would be the bow thrusters used for docking. They can sound and feel like a giant garbage disposal is running near your cabin when you are that far forward :(. There are also thrusters in the aft section.

 

As others have said, there can be noise in many parts of the ship. You can improve your odds by picking a cabin in a location where you are surrounded by other cabins on all sides as a buffer. For those sensitive to vibration, also choose a cabin not too far forward or aft to avoid engine/anchor/thruster issues. Avoid guarantee cabins as you have no choice of location.

 

I hope any future cruises are more pleasant!

Edited September 6, 2015 by SoCal Cruiser78

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Edit to my above post: I didn't mean to annoy the OP with a "you should have picked a quieter cabin" post; my info on cabin location was to help with any future bookings :).

Edited September 6, 2015 by SoCal Cruiser78

[spookyfudge]

Since you did not " pick your cabin" since it was a last minute thought of yours,and YOU got a great price, I think you have no recourse on the cabin and the noise that came with it. When flying normal economy class o. Airplanes, you don't get the extra leg room, perks, etc. So if you do a last minute booking, without cabin selection, most peek do research their rooms on locations like this. Next time take ear plugs ,sound system, or or plan a head research your cabin and book EARLY!

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Forums mobile app