NOISY CABIN?

[DeclanDiamond]

Hi guys, still shortlisting cruises!

 

I'm looking at the Regal Princess and an interior cabin  on deck 14 .... R424 (see pic). It is pretty close to the lifts/stair area and consequently I am wondering if this would be noisy enough to stop me from sleeping (light sleeper).

 

Also, there seems to be a cabin directly above on deck 15, but a white space (service area) to the side of that. (see pic2)  Should I be worried about noise from that area?

From the options available on the Princess website, this is the largest and best appointed interior cabin (midship).

 

Should I avoid?

[Buckeye10640]

22 minutes ago, DeclanDiamond said:

Hi guys, still shortlisting cruises!

 

I'm looking at the Regal Princess and an interior cabin  on deck 14 .... R424 (see pic). It is pretty close to the lifts/stair area and consequently I am wondering if this would be noisy enough to stop me from sleeping (light sleeper).

 

Also, there seems to be a cabin directly above on deck 15, but a white space (service area) to the side of that. (see pic2)  Should I be worried about noise from that area?

From the options available on the Princess website, this is the largest and best appointed interior cabin (midship).

 

Should I avoid?

If I were booking an interior cabin I would be ok with this one. But I am curious as to why you think this one is the largest and best appointed? 

[JF - retired RRT]

Those sideways cabins are said to "feel" larger, because of the layout.

Best appointed?? Everyone in an inside gets the same thing.

 

Even cabins that are closer than that cabin, i.e. directly across from the elevators, don't hear much except during "rush hour"...dinner, end of shows, etc. Most of any noise from the elevators would just be some minor chatting as people leave the elevator lobby & head to their cabins.

[DeclanDiamond]

8 minutes ago, Buckeye10640 said:

If I were booking an interior cabin I would be ok with this one. But I am curious as to why you think this one is the largest and best appointed? 

Thank you for your prompt reply.

Looking at the cabin availability and the deck plan that's the largest/best positioned cabin left at 175 sq ft and in midship. There are others available in mid aft and mid forward that are further away from the lifts/stairs but they are only 166 sq ft.

[DeclanDiamond]

10 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Those sideways cabins are said to "feel" larger, because of the layout.

Best appointed?? Everyone in an inside gets the same thing.

 

Even cabins that are closer than that cabin, i.e. directly across from the elevators, don't hear much except during "rush hour"...dinner, end of shows, etc. Most of any noise from the elevators would just be some minor chatting as people leave the elevator lobby & head to their cabins.

Thank you for your reply.

By best appointed, I mean more favourable to me in terms of being mid ship, rather towards either end.

This cabin is 175 sq ft as opposed to the other sideways cabins further along which are 166 sq ft.

[pms4104]

20 minutes ago, DeclanDiamond said:

Thank you for your prompt reply.

Looking at the cabin availability and the deck plan that's the largest/best positioned cabin left at 175 sq ft and in midship. There are others available in mid aft and mid forward that are further away from the lifts/stairs but they are only 166 sq ft.

Cabin layout may trump 9 feet.

[jimbo1683]

35 minutes ago, pms4104 said:

Cabin layout may trump 9 feet.

And remember it is sq ft. 9 square ft is smaller than the floor space occupied by a telephone box, it is 75% of a standard bathtub, it is one quarter of the bed in the cabin.

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

Had an interior cabin similar to that one precovid. 

I liked the layout much better than the slightly smaller interiors.

Elevator noise was nonexsistant.  We never noticed it.

 

[memoak]

Never been bothered by the elevator but there have been occasions we could hear people who go off the elevator having a loud conversation

[jondfk]

I would absolutely take the Rivera deck cabin one away from the elevator, I doubt you'll ever be anything other than grateful for the short walk to / from the cabin.

 

On the other hand, I wouldn't book the Marina cabin next to the whitespace under any circumstances.  That white space, if you are lucky, will be the stewards area and he/she may consider adjacent passengers and keep noise to a minimum.  On the other hand, it may be a room service staging area with all of the accompanying dish clattering and the like, it could be a crew stairwell with traffic all day and night, could be ship equipment, really there's no way to know for sure.  White spaces are rarely if ever positives for the adjacent cabins and are to be avoided like the plague IMHO.

 

 

[jimbo1683]

9 minutes ago, jondfk said:

I would absolutely take the Rivera deck cabin one away from the elevator, I doubt you'll ever be anything other than grateful for the short walk to / from the cabin.

 

On the other hand, I wouldn't book the Marina cabin next to the whitespace under any circumstances.  That white space, if you are lucky, will be the stewards area and he/she may consider adjacent passengers and keep noise to a minimum.  On the other hand, it may be a room service staging area with all of the accompanying dish clattering and the like, it could be a crew stairwell with traffic all day and night, could be ship equipment, really there's no way to know for sure.  White spaces are rarely if ever positives for the adjacent cabins and are to be avoided like the plague IMHO.

 

 

Presumably somewhere there is a map of what the white spaces are. They must exist for emergency purposes, for crew to find their way around, blueprints for build? I know ive looked and not been able to find any but it does t make sense that they dont exist

[Roberto256]

Far more important than a few square feet...

 

AVOID the sideways insides with upper berths (unless you plan on using them)

 

VERY intrusive.

 

[Steelers36]

8 hours ago, DeclanDiamond said:

Thank you for your reply.

By best appointed, I mean more favourable to me in terms of being mid ship, rather towards either end.

This cabin is 175 sq ft as opposed to the other sideways cabins further along which are 166 sq ft.

Not sure, but I do not think they used to show a different size for those sideways (say when Regal was newer).  Maybe I am wrong.

 

The closet/storage area seems larger to me - IIRC, definitely a bit bigger.  Just seems better.  The desk/work area is longer and much better.  The drawback is that when you open the door and step in, you are directly at the beds, so be careful.

 

With the traditional layout, the closet storage are is smaller, but you do step into almost a small vestibule and the sleeping area and desk are in the back, so seems more private.  Easier if one person comes in later at night.  

 

All-in-all, I would pick a sideways if location was where we wanted, but would not hesitate to book a traditional layout if location suited.

[DeclanDiamond]

6 hours ago, CalLuvsCrusingToo said:

Had an interior cabin similar to that one precovid. 

I liked the layout much better than the slightly smaller interiors.

Elevator noise was nonexsistant.  We never noticed it.

 

That's great. Thank you.

[DeclanDiamond]

28 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Not sure, but I do not think they used to show a different size for those sideways (say when Regal was newer).  Maybe I am wrong.

 

The closet/storage area seems larger to me - IIRC, definitely a bit bigger.  Just seems better.  The desk/work area is longer and much better.  The drawback is that when you open the door and step in, you are directly at the beds, so be careful.

 

With the traditional layout, the closet storage are is smaller, but you do step into almost a small vestibule and the sleeping area and desk are in the back, so seems more private.  Easier if one person comes in later at night.  

 

All-in-all, I would pick a sideways if location was where we wanted, but would not hesitate to book a traditional layout if location suited.

Thanks very much.

[DeclanDiamond]

29 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Not sure, but I do not think they used to show a different size for those sideways (say when Regal was newer).  Maybe I am wrong.

 

The closet/storage area seems larger to me - IIRC, definitely a bit bigger.  Just seems better.  The desk/work area is longer and much better.  The drawback is that when you open the door and step in, you are directly at the beds, so be careful.

 

With the traditional layout, the closet storage are is smaller, but you do step into almost a small vestibule and the sleeping area and desk are in the back, so seems more private.  Easier if one person comes in later at night.  

 

All-in-all, I would pick a sideways if location was where we wanted, but would not hesitate to book a traditional layout if location suited.

Good stuff. Thank you.

[DeclanDiamond]

1 hour ago, Roberto256 said:

Far more important than a few square feet...

 

AVOID the sideways insides with upper berths (unless you plan on using them)

 

VERY intrusive.

 

Thank you.

[ChutChut]

Sideway insides are good cabins. I've stayed in three of them. That dead space in the middle b/t the insides is an interior crew hallway. On occasion, you may be able to hear (faintly) noise but rarely at night. I'm a fairly light sleeper and I did very well in these cabins. 

 

The dead space next to m428? could be a steward closet. Those could be noisy with carts going in and out. I would try to avoid those.

 

I would go with R424.

[DeclanDiamond]

11 hours ago, ChutChut said:

Sideway insides are good cabins. I've stayed in three of them. That dead space in the middle b/t the insides is an interior crew hallway. On occasion, you may be able to hear (faintly) noise but rarely at night. I'm a fairly light sleeper and I did very well in these cabins. 

 

The dead space next to m428? could be a steward closet. Those could be noisy with carts going in and out. I would try to avoid those.

 

I would go with R424.

Good stuff, thanks.

[Hlitner]

I would not be concerned about the forward cabin other then to check what is above and below.  But that aft cabin is adjacent to the large vent shaft (that is what ends in the big stacks up on deck) which is an area we would avoid.  Those vertical shafts have various blowers and other equipment which can result in constant (and even some intermittent) noise.  The only way to be sure about that cabin would be to find somebody who has been adjacent to that vertical shaft area and get their report.

 

Hank

[DeclanDiamond]

12 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

I would not be concerned about the forward cabin other then to check what is above and below.  But that aft cabin is adjacent to the large vent shaft (that is what ends in the big stacks up on deck) which is an area we would avoid.  Those vertical shafts have various blowers and other equipment which can result in constant (and even some intermittent) noise.  The only way to be sure about that cabin would be to find somebody who has been adjacent to that vertical shaft area and get their report.

 

Hank

 Great info. Thank you Hank. That diagram is slightly confusing since two pictures have been posted joined together. The top one shows the actual cabin on deck 14, whereas the bottom one shows position immediately above on deck 15.

Edited November 16, 2021 by DeclanDiamond

[Hlitner]

1 minute ago, DeclanDiamond said:

 Great info. Thank you Hank.

Having cruised extensively for over 45 years we have developed our own strategies to find quiet cabins.   Sometimes it works and once in a while our best efforts are defeated for various reasons such as just having a noisy neighbor (no way to predict this issue).  But, unlike many, we prefer cabins in the forward part of the ship...especially forward of the forward elevators.  All ships put their heaviest mechanical equipment amidships radiating both forward and aft.  This is simply to control the center of gravity (any Marine Engineer can better explain).  Ships also have their props towards the aft be they powered by long shafts or Azipods.  Props (and Azipods) can generate both noise and vibration.  The vibration can come from mechanical vibration or cavitation (the effect when water is churned between the props and hull).  We once met a well known Marine Engineer who told us that predicting cavitation is among the more difficult tasks when designing a ship and that they often get it wrong :).

 

So why do we like forward cabins?  There are simply fewer mechanical systems towards the bow (other then the noisy thrusters only used when entering or leaving ports).  And forward of that forward elevator bank there is a lot less foot traffic in the corridor then anywhere else on the ship.  Another advantage is that because many prefer to avoid forward cabins because of the risk of increased motion, the cabins are often put in a lower category and are less expensive then similar cabins located amidships or even aft.   When we are asked about the increased motion towards the bow our response is that it has seldom been a problem except when in some pretty rough seas.  And the the motion simply rocks us asleep :).  But we would agree that cabins towards the bow should generally be avoided by those who are prone to motion sickness.

 

Hank