Noise: Deck 14, Boardwalk & Central Park Cabins on Oasis Class Ships?

[mlbcruiser]

For the first time in many Royal Caribbean cruises we are likely going to book a Neighborhod GTY cabin.  Cruising in a few short weeks so won't get the usual balcony discount as we're booking far less than 6 months ahead. There aren't all that many cabins left in ANY categories even the ones you choose yourself.

So it looks like there is a very good chance we'll wind up on deck 14.   

 

If you have had a neighborhood cabin on an Oasis class on deck 14, how was it?  I have noticed the sports deck is right above deck 14 and the basketball court seems to be above the aft Boardwalk balcony cabins. (Scared of hearing thumping all the time!)   As for Central Park, the pools are just above those cabins (I don't recall what else) and in THE past, we've never chosen even deck 12 for that reason.   I will be holding my breath to see where we end up if cabins on deck 14 in these areas have problems with lots of noise or other unpleasant issues.

 

Hoping some of you who have deck 14 neighborhood experience will see this soon and reply! I tried to do a search and I know this topic has come up,  but? . Thank you SO MUCH for any helpful replies. Counting on the CC community!

 

[Starry Eyes]

I’ve booked quite a few neighborhood gty on Oasis class; I have not been assigned deck 14 yet.  Also, I’ve had some luck swapping cabins after assignment, so even if I am assigned deck 14, I would probably keep an eye out for swaps.  
 

I noticed you posted on the Harmony  Nov 7 Roll Call.  If that’s the cruise, I see substantially more BW cabins on 8 and 9 than on 14.  I also see as many CP cabins on 12 as on 14.  I have stayed on deck 12 in CP with no noise issue in cabin interior…though I guess on the balcony the poolside music etc might be a tad louder than on deck 11 CP balcony (but anybody that picky about noise probably shouldn’t book a gty!). Also, if that is the cruise, check in will be soon and you’ll be able to use the barcode trick on your set sail pass to see if Royal has a cabin planned for you.

Edited September 21, 2022 by Starry Eyes

[Jerseygirl1416]

24 minutes ago, mlbcruiser said:

For the first time in many Royal Caribbean cruises we are likely going to book a Neighborhod GTY cabin.  Cruising in a few short weeks so won't get the usual balcony discount as we're booking far less than 6 months ahead. There aren't all that many cabins left in ANY categories even the ones you choose yourself.

So it looks like there is a very good chance we'll wind up on deck 14.   

 

If you have had a neighborhood cabin on an Oasis class on deck 14, how was it?  I have noticed the sports deck is right above deck 14 and the basketball court seems to be above the aft Boardwalk balcony cabins. (Scared of hearing thumping all the time!)   As for Central Park, the pools are just above those cabins (I don't recall what else) and in THE past, we've never chosen even deck 12 for that reason.   I will be holding my breath to see where we end up if cabins on deck 14 in these areas have problems with lots of noise or other unpleasant issues.

 

Hoping some of you who have deck 14 neighborhood experience will see this soon and reply! I tried to do a search and I know this topic has come up,  but? . Thank you SO MUCH for any helpful replies. Counting on the CC community!

 

I’m in an OS on 14 right now. You can definitely hear the music from the pool deck in the cabin and some chair dragging and heavy walkers so I think if you were under the sports court you’d definitely hear it. We’re not in the cabin during the day and they only had one night time pool deck party this week and it ended at 11:15 so it wasn’t bad. We haven’t been bothered by the noise from above but some may be. 

[GTO-Girl]

No way would I want a cabin on Deck 14……

[Cutigerlady]

We were on deck 14 on the Harmony right below the walkway between mini golf and a ping pong table. They close the sports activities at 8 or 9 I think, which stops most of the foot traffic.  

 

We would here kids running around before then and moving of chairs occasionally. It wasn’t loud enough that I would avoid staying there again.

[mlbcruiser]

I think it’s definitely a trade-off to get any kind of a balcony versus an inside cabin when you could end up in an inside or ocean view far forward on the ship. At least for me. One problem about the noise is it used to not matter so much but my husband takes a lot of naps!  Plus I turn in later so I am rarely out of the cabin before 930! Sometimes 10:00. I certainly appreciate the replies. A lot!  Thank you!

Edited September 22, 2022 by mlbcruiser

[Starry Eyes]

Remember to pack earplugs no matter where your assignment.  I consider them a good luck charm: I’m less likely to need them if i have them.

Edited September 22, 2022 by Starry Eyes

[mlbcruiser]

I even wear them every night at home! Of course I can still hear with them in but they do muffle the noise a bit. Thanks for replying.

[brillohead]

You do still get the balcony discount, it's just $25 less since you're within six months of sailing.  

[mlbcruiser]

 brillohead, I wish! Royal started the six month deadline for a balcony discount a few years back. Since then, I’ve only ever gotten it when we are booking farther than six months out. Definitely have when we have booked more than six months out.  We are diamond but after this cruise we’ll be diamond plus (didn’t get that status quickly by booking suites or anything, either). I believe there’s a $25 difference in the amount of the discount between those two levels, though. I booked today and did not get it. Even when you book online with an agency or through RCI, the balcony discount will automatically show up before you finalize the booking if you put your C&A # in first. If you have been getting it inside of six months, please tell me your secret!  For the record, I even actually booked through the cruiseline this time, too! Thanks for trying to help me out though. I do appreciate it.

[brillohead]

7 hours ago, mlbcruiser said:

 brillohead, I wish! Royal started the six month deadline for a balcony discount a few years back. Since then, I’ve only ever gotten it when we are booking farther than six months out. Definitely have when we have booked more than six months out.  We are diamond but after this cruise we’ll be diamond plus (didn’t get that status quickly by booking suites or anything, either). I believe there’s a $25 difference in the amount of the discount between those two levels, though. I booked today and did not get it. Even when you book online with an agency or through RCI, the balcony discount will automatically show up before you finalize the booking if you put your C&A # in first. If you have been getting it inside of six months, please tell me your secret!  For the record, I even actually booked through the cruiseline this time, too! Thanks for trying to help me out though. I do appreciate it.

I think the issue might be the fact that the balcony discount doesn't always "play nicely" with promotional fares. 

So if you want to get the sale price, you don't get the balcony discount.  

It has nothing to do with being inside of six months, but rather the type of promotion that is currently in effect. 

Maybe @Ourusualbeach can confirm.  

[Ourusualbeach]

18 minutes ago, brillohead said:

I think the issue might be the fact that the balcony discount doesn't always "play nicely" with promotional fares. 

So if you want to get the sale price, you don't get the balcony discount.  

It has nothing to do with being inside of six months, but rather the type of promotion that is currently in effect. 

Maybe @Ourusualbeach can confirm.  

Correct. The balcony discount has nothing to do with being inside of 6 months.  Inside of 6 months just reduces the amount of the discount by $25 as you mentioned.

 

When booking on line it is not enough to be logged in.  You must also enter your C&A number in the same section where you enter military, senior or other discount qualifiers.  Depending on the promo it may or may not be combinable with the discount.  Suites rarely get it as the extra obc or extra $ off are nearly always more than the balcony discount anc are not combinable. 

[Orange jeep]

I just had a Central Park Balcony for the first time (tried booking a few times and always ended up upgrading to Balcony).  I really loved the Central Park Balcony and would not hesitate to book again.  We were on Deck 10 in cabin 10609 which you could view the entertainment in Central Park in the evening.  I would not stay on Deck 14 as I heard you hear noise pool deck.

 

 

[soremekun]

I've done deck 14 twice, Central Park and Boardwalk balconies.  No problems with noise for me and the wife from above.  

[mlbcruiser]

OK, I just got off the phone with RCI.  I was certain there have been a couple of times when we did not get the balcony discount inside of six months. That is true. However, the customer service agent I dealt with looked everything up. He himself wasn’t sure of how it was supposed to work at first. As it stands,  the reason we are not getting the discount is because of the current 30% off flash sale across the board. Now this “flash” sale has been going on for at least a couple of weeks. In fact, it was just extended either over the weekend or on Monday. (Flash to me should refer to a sudden one or two day sale. Not one that has gone on for over a week or more. ) He said there are other sales that nullify a diamond level or higher discount as well. It just depends on the particular sale. I am quite sure we have booked many times during a sale but I guess those particular sales allowed the discount.  There can be other reasons the discount isn’t given on particular cruises or itineraries as well, and some things have changed from the way they were, which could also enter into it. I guess if we were paying full price we would get a discounted discount if booking within six months (as some of you have said). Some of this can be found on the Royal Caribbean site under find a cruise, then discounts, then exclusions and then I think you have to scroll down and also look for special wording such as “combinable with all discounts.” I didn’t try this myself but just asked how to find it. Now I know what to look for in the future. Thanks for spurring me on to find out what the whens & whys are. 
 

Hope we have your experience, sormekun, if we get deck 14 & can’t switch! Although we have had balconies on the ocean side several times, on the Oasis class we’ve generally had CP balconies and, like you and Orange jeep, We have really enjoyed them  Usually deck 9 or 11.
 

Thanks for the tip Ourusualbeach,  but I ALWAYS  put our C&A # in during a cruise search, as well as check military, senior citizen and the state we live in to try for any  available disounts. It can often make a difference for sure. 
 

[rpp77]

We had connecting Interior balcony cabins on Deck 14 of Allure a few years back, would never do it again. Woke up multiple mornings to the sound of the crew literally throwing deck chairs into place starting at around 6am. Maybe it's different on a ship-by-ship basis, but it was enough to make me not want to take that chance again.

[mlbcruiser]

I have a feeling it just depends what your cabin is under. Could be someone gets lucky it is under a non-noisy spot. But someone else winds up under a very noisy spot. So we were on I think it was the carnival destiny years ago when she was a new ship. So my brother probably went to bed around 12:30 AM. 1:30 AM and we were still hearing the crew party on the pool deck directly above our cabin. Finally I called down to the customer service deck and asked how much longer it would be going on. Within five or 10 minutes it had stopped, thankfully.