Country music on balcony anyone?

[mrsgoggins]

Currently early days on a nice warm cruise with a lovely hump balcony.  Came out to enjoy some sounds of the sea and my neighbours are playing country music on their balcony.  Not loud, but I have good hearing and each song is clear to me.

 

I am trying to tell myself to chill out, be grateful it’s not rap music etc, but I am feeling agitated about it.  I did ask (politely) that they turn it down a little but got no response.  They may not have heard, (and English does not appear to be their first language). Do I try harder ignore it or give in and vacate my balcony?  Most definitely a first world problem but others’ thoughts would be appreciated.  No chance I am going to learn to love country music in the remaining cruise time ..... well unless it’s Dolly Parton’s greatest hits 😊.

[sippican]

Why not call guest services?

 

[Slugsta]

Yes, If a polite request has failed, for whatever reason, then approaching guest services is a sensible next step. You have as much right to relax and enjoy your balcony as the people in the next cabin!

[tallnthensome]

I would NOT want to be able to hear anyone’s music on my balcony. I can’t believe anyone would disrupt the peacefulness of having a balcony and force others to listen to their music. If these people want to listen to music on their balcony let them put headphones on their head and keep it to themselves. 

[mrsgoggins]

10 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

I would NOT want to be able to hear anyone’s music on my balcony. I can’t believe anyone would disrupt the peacefulness of having a balcony and force others to listen to their music. If these people want to listen to music on their balcony let them put headphones on their head and keep it to themselves. 

 

My thoughts too.  Guess I’ve not called Guest Services because I thought it might be seen as unreasonable; it is quiet-ish music, not a boom box (did I just make that up or is there such a thing, ha ha).

 

Not Country now - Rivers of Babylon and before that I have a Dream .... and yes I was very tempted to tell them that my dream was just peace and quiet 😉

Edited October 20, 2018 by mrsgoggins
Word omitted

[leaveitallbehind]

I agree with the others.  You should not be subject to other peoples music while on your balcony.  Regardless of how loud or soft it is played, it is inconsiderate of them and I would definitely take it up with guest services.  They can - and should use - earbuds. Hopefully it will stop with a visit to the front desk.

[davekathy]

Agree with all others. Let GSs handle the nuisance neighbor. 

Edited October 20, 2018 by davekathy

[noah53]

No music is the best music unless you use headphones. 

 

[mrsgoggins]

Thanks to each of you who took the time to respond.  It actually helped writing it down and getting feedback.

 

This is what happened next:  I tapped on the glass partition and when I got a response I calmly mentioned that I didn’t care to hear music while on my balcony.  A man’s voice said words to the effect of ‘I can have music on my own balcony’.  I told him that my taste was not the same as his and I thought that ear buds might be an idea.  No more was said.  The music was turned even further down - but I could still just about hear it and so decided to leave him/them to it and not to sweat the small stuff.

 

Inconsiderate people will always be with us, and this guy clearly doesn’t see it.   Glad I never use the pool and so don’t have to worry about ‘chair hogs’ 😀.  On with the great cruise ........

[hcat]

Maybe you can treat them to some fine Opera they might enjoy when they are outside  relaxing!

 

The neighbors gave you a rude response/ bad attitude, so  a call to Guest Services would be proper,

[the_dylaness]

I'm sad to hear they were not responsive to your polite request to stop the music.

 

I have occasionally played music, very softly, on my balcony, when neither immediately adjacent neighbor was present.  neighbor came out?  Music goes off.  And the music was never loud enough that i could imagine anyone else could hear it over the roar of the waves.  If for some reason I hadn't noticed my neighbor coming out, and they'd asked me to stop, I would have been beet red and done so immediately!  

[Dimarie40]

We had a similar issue with our neighbours on a recent cruise.  They had a teenager who liked to play songs AND sing on the balcony.  I tolerated it for a while but then made a bit of noise moving the table.  The music was lowered but gradually increased again.  I then coughed very loudly.  Suddenly the music stops, her mother spoke to her (don't know what she said as it was in Spanish) and she went inside.

 

Unfortunately I had to repeat this another couple of times before the message got through. I also have to admit on one occasion I fought fire with fire and started playing music on my iPhone.  Message was received loud and clear.

 

Fast forward to the following cruise and new neighbours decided to have a discussion about their marriage while sitting on their balcony.  They didn't realise I was out there reading my kindle.  I ended up having to cough loudly so they knew I was there.  Silence descended immediately and they quickly went inside.  I really did not want to hear about the state of their marriage.  People need to realise that if someone is sitting three feet away they can hear everything. 

[TFLG]

Your balcony isn't a library it's more like your back yard at home and if your neighbor is playing music I don't think the ship is going to do much about it unless it's midnight or obnoxiously loud . I've been on many cruises where people have music playing and I've had music playing on my balcony (at a reasonable level). 

 

We were parked next to a Carnival ship last October that had a rave going on. Every balcony on our ship was treated to the thump, thump, thump of rave music for hours on end.

[Duanerice1]

We had this about a week ago on the Equinox.  I know it's not the end of the world but that's why we have ear buds.  Luckily the music wasn't too loud, it was music I liked so I didn't say anything. 

 

But I don't understand why people think this is OK.  Use your earbuds, no one else wants to hear your music. 

[Iamthesea]

Quote

People need to realise that if someone is sitting three feet away they can hear everything. 

 

Yes! 

 

Reminds me of the cruise where a woman coughed loudly every few seconds while DH and I were on our balcony reading.  It was so annoying that we could not concentrate.  Had to retreat inside. 

 

And then there are the 'yell to each other' people.  We once had a couple next door that shouted to each other over and over again.  She while sitting on the balcony, and he in the stateroom with the balcony door opened.  He also had the TV up really loud!

 

We have not had a problem with music from next door, but recently had that on a just returned from beach trip.  Within ear shot of 'our spot' on the beach, there were 3 different people with wireless speakers cranked up to different tunes.  So much for listening to the ocean and reading a good beach book. 😠

[bigbeergut]

12 hours ago, mrsgoggins said:

Currently early days on a nice warm cruise with a lovely hump balcony.  Came out to enjoy some sounds of the sea and my neighbours are playing country music on their balcony.  Not loud, but I have good hearing and each song is clear to me.

 

I am trying to tell myself to chill out, be grateful it’s not rap music etc, but I am feeling agitated about it.  I did ask (politely) that they turn it down a little but got no response.  They may not have heard, (and English does not appear to be their first language). Do I try harder ignore it or give in and vacate my balcony?  Most definitely a first world problem but others’ thoughts would be appreciated.  No chance I am going to learn to love country music in the remaining cruise time ..... well unless it’s Dolly Parton’s greatest hits 😊.

I guess I'm in the minority, but I think your neighbor has the right to listen to his music on the balcony at a reasonable volume.  The balcony isn't a private space and it's not reasonable to expect library quiet on the balcony.  He's correct, play your own music.  This is how your neighbor expected to use his balcony.  I think your first instinct to accept the music was correct.

[OCruisers]

No way would we play any sort of music on our balcony because our music would "invade" the hearing space of others who are enjoying their balcony.  

[bEwAbG]

Cruise Critic has a top 10 list of things not to do on your balcony and playing music comes in at #2 (quoted below).  No one wants to hear another person's noise.  Your "right" to playing music on the balcony ends when it disturbs someone else.   If the neighbors can hear it, it's too loud.  If the neighbors can hear it because they're 2 feet away, then that's your problem.  Wear headphones if you really cannot stand to be alone with your thoughts.  This is called common courtesy.

 

"Loud music is for the nightclub and the lido deck. Respect the peace and quiet that many of your veranda neighbors crave by using headphones or keeping the volume to a minimum. Remember, too, that even if the volume isn't loud, it still might be loud enough for others to hear, and not everyone likes the same music you do."

[Safety Squirrel]

Reminds me of the cruise where a woman coughed loudly every few seconds while DH and I were on our balcony reading.  It was so annoying that we could not concentrate.  Had to retreat inside. 

 

The lady coughing could have had a medical condition.  I was on a B2B for 21 days in the Caribbean in 2017.  Unfortunately I got a severe case of bronchitis the fifth day.  Visited the medical centre several times and the Doctors put me on a bronchial inhaler twice a day for several days plus meds. Doctors told me not to stay inside the ship but to get lots of fresh air.  Fortunately I had a balcony and I alternated between my balcony and the stateroom.  I certainly did not plan to get sick on the cruise but was very thankful that I had a balcony to sit outside part of the day.  Yes, I coughed but slowly the meds worked and finally during the last days of the cruise, I was not coughing.

 

I did not go to any of the shows or the dining room so I would not infect others.  Thank goodness for room service.

[bigbeergut]

I wonder how guest services would have responded to the complaint someone was playing music on the balcony.  Since the people next to the OP weren't playing the music very loud, I'll bet GS would not have stopped them.

[bEwAbG]

I bet they would have said "we've had complaints about the noise" and asked them to turn it down or off.  Squeaky wheel gets the grease, and in this case it's such a universal no-no that I don't think they'd think twice about it.  There was a somewhat notorious poster on here in the recent past who was absolutely furious that GS had asked her to turn off her music and then threatened to confiscate her speaker when she didn't.  

Edited October 21, 2018 by bEwAbG

[bigbeergut]

32 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

I bet they would have said "we've had complaints about the noise" and asked them to turn it down or off.  Squeaky wheel gets the grease, and in this case it's such a universal no-no that I don't think they'd think twice about it.  There was a somewhat notorious poster on here in the recent past who was absolutely furious that GS had asked her to turn off her music and then threatened to confiscate her speaker when she didn't.  

I think the key words are turn it down.  In this case even the OP indicated the volume wasn't excessively loud.  Time of day would also be a factor.  I think GS would allow the OP's neighbor to listen to music at a reasonable volume.

[DENIE]

I always bring headphones with me when I travel, and certainly if I were to be on my balcony listening to music, it would be with my noise cancelling headphones (and no, I don't sing to the music).  I expect some routine conversation around that is not overly loud or profanity laced.  I would agree that Guest Services would be the place to start.

 

On a side note...Country Music (ACK!!!!) 

Edited October 21, 2018 by DENIE
Forgot to include information

[crazyman3]

4 hours ago, bigbeergut said:

I guess I'm in the minority, but I think your neighbor has the right to listen to his music on the balcony at a reasonable volume.  The balcony isn't a private space and it's not reasonable to expect library quiet on the balcony.  He's correct, play your own music.  This is how your neighbor expected to use his balcony.  I think your first instinct to accept the music was correct.

 

I consider my balcony part of my accommodation. I paid for it. It is private.

Do you look around/through/under/over the partition at your neighbours on their balcony? 

I would certainly be approaching GR about anti-social behavior: feeding birds, smoking, music, throwing rubbish etc.

[bigbeergut]

6 hours ago, crazyman3 said:

 

 

Do you look around/through/under/over the partition at your neighbours on their balcony? 

 

Maybe,  what are they doing?