Sky Princess Cabin Noise

[minabruuke]

We're currently on the Sky Princess and we can hear the people and the TV in the room next to us so clearly that it sounds like they are actually in our room. It is not muffled in the slightest. 

 

Here's the thing...I don't think the neighbors are the problem but rather there is absolutely no sound proofing. There was originally another family in that room. We could hear them just as clearly. I asked guest services if what we were experiencing was normal; they just said they'd have someone check it out. But they also told us that family was actually moving out and into a mini-suite for some extra space. Awesome, problem solved! Only they moved a new couple in there this evening (there are 100's of empty cabins this cruise so they didn't need to do this) and we're back to hearing everything. 

 

I am Elite with Princess so I have experience with their ships. I have never experienced anything like this. Hall noise and doors slamming are things I expect but this is unacceptable and frankly an invasion in privacy (if I can make out their conversations word for word then they must also be able to hear us that clearly). Has anyone else noticed a problem on the Sky Princess? Is this a known problem with these newest ships? Or is it possible that some sort of noise barrier is missing between these two cabins?

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

Can you ask to be moved also?  I would ask, especially since so many

vacant cabins.

Edited December 19, 2022 by CalLuvsCrusingToo

[minabruuke]

8 minutes ago, CalLuvsCrusingToo said:

Can you ask to be moved also?  I would ask, especially since so many

vacant cabins.

They offered to move us but if this is a ship wide issue then that wouldn't do any good. I do not believe that this is just a noisy neighbors situation which could easily be resolved with a move.  My husband would find the hassle of moving more disturbing than the noise and if we move and have the same problem in the new cabin he will be annoyed with me for choosing to move. That's why I am trying to figure out here if other people have noticed excess noise in the cabins on this ship. I will suck it up and deal with it if it is just how this ship is (my husband's theory is that they used lighter and/or cheaper materials to build this ship and they're just not as effective in blocking the sound). 

[Rick&Jeannie]

The one time we have sailed on the Sky we did not experience anything like what you are describing.  You did not say what type of cabin you are in (unless I just missed it)...we were in a mini-suite, R423.

[Wishing on a star]

Which cabin?   Adjoining cabin?

Are there cabins (with guests) one both sides of yours, or just the one.

 

Maybe there is actually  some issue with the construction and soundproofing with those two particular cabins?

 

And, are you mid-cruise.  I am wondering why so many people are moving around?

 

I would def. consider moving,  IF  they could find another cabin that maybe didn't have people next door?  If you request, they should have some staff to help you transfer your stuff.  Just kind of halfway pack everything up enough to move it.

 

Tell your husband you know that he is annoyed by the hassle of moving, but you are going to be MORE annoyed if you can't feel comfortable and free from noise from the one cabin.

[minabruuke]

2 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

Which cabin?   Adjoining cabin?

Are there cabins (with guests) one both sides of yours, or just the one.

 

Maybe there is actually  some issue with the construction and soundproofing with those two particular cabins?

 

And, are you mid-cruise.  I am wondering why so many people are moving around?

 

I would def. consider moving,  IF  they could find another cabin that maybe didn't have people next door?  

We're in a standard balcony on Baja. It is not an adjoining cabin. We can hear the neighbors on both sides but the cabin forward of us is more muffled and less bothersome. I actually asked if it was possible there was missing sound proofing between these two cabins and I just got a "if you're unhappy with your cabin, we're happy to move you" rather than an answer. I really lean towards an actual construction/material issue in this section because I would think that if what we are hearing is the norm, then Cruise Critic would be full of complaints about this but I thought it possible I had missed comments and worth asking.

 

Tonight is our second night. They moved loads of people around today. I think mostly families (possibly new cruisers that didn't realize how small the standard cabins are) that have 3-4 people in one cabin and asked to move to a larger space. The staff onboard is wonderful so I think they're being very accommodating because with so many empty cabins they can be. Our steward had two families move into empty mini-suites today, in addition to the swap that happened next to us. 

 

There may be cabins without neighbors but given that they re-filled the vacated cabin next to us even though they had already heard from us that there was a noise problem, I am not sure we could count on an empty cabin staying empty.

[philv]

Wow, that’s weird. I’ve done many Princess cruises and never heard much from neighbors. I’m on Sky in February and hope we don’t have similar experience.

[nini]

Hopefully you can keep us informed of any discoveries or resolutions. This is a bummer for you. Our first Princess Cruise was on the Golden (sold) and we did hear our one neighbor because they had a crying baby. It was a nuisance and I felt sorry for the baby. We had 12 foot waves and we were at the very front of the ship in an inside cabin.

[dog]

Yes, I was in a midship balcony on E deck and heard neighbours tv, music quite loud on Sky.

 

I’ve chosen aft balcony for future cruise on that ship.

[minabruuke]

7 hours ago, philv said:

Wow, that’s weird. I’ve done many Princess cruises and never heard much from neighbors. I’m on Sky in February and hope we don’t have similar experience.

It is weird! If this was our first cruise then I might've though this normal but we know it is not at all normal, at least not on the other Princess ships we've sailed. 

 

If we do end up changing cabins, I will update here as to whether it is better or not. 

 

On a positive note, the cruise has been great so far aside from this one problem. The crew is very friendly! The ship is very clean. Food has been good. Internet has worked much better than I expected (wish we could disconnect but we just can't this cruise). I love the internal color scheme on this ship: lighter wood grain, greys and blues. This ship is not crowded and you can find nice quiet places to relax outside of the cabin. 

[rocklinmom]

When they move people to a different and bigger cabin, are they paying an upgrade fee? Like if they move from a balcony cabin to a minisuite? I didn't realize they let people move around once onboard unless an illness situation or maintenance issue. 

[Wishing on a star]

They are not always accommodating.  But, with the new bidding system, and with SOME sailings with a lot of available cabins,  they are probably doing more onboard requested upgrades when possible.  I am sure that they are discounted, like bidding would be.  People know what the bidding offers were in the bidding email notices they received.   The cruise lines need any additional revenue they can get out each sailing!

 

There have been mention here of a chart of upgrade charges for the available categories being available at embarkation. 

 

Maybe a search for cabin reviews, and cruise reviews for the Sky would be telling?

 

 

Edited December 19, 2022 by Wishing on a star

[LouCoop]

10 hours ago, minabruuke said:

We're in a standard balcony on Baja. It is not an adjoining cabin. We can hear the neighbors on both sides but the cabin forward of us is more muffled and less bothersome. I actually asked if it was possible there was missing sound proofing between these two cabins and I just got a "if you're unhappy with your cabin, we're happy to move you" rather than an answer. I really lean towards an actual construction/material issue in this section because I would think that if what we are hearing is the norm, then Cruise Critic would be full of complaints about this but I thought it possible I had missed comments and worth asking.

 

Tonight is our second night. They moved loads of people around today. I think mostly families (possibly new cruisers that didn't realize how small the standard cabins are) that have 3-4 people in one cabin and asked to move to a larger space. The staff onboard is wonderful so I think they're being very accommodating because with so many empty cabins they can be. Our steward had two families move into empty mini-suites today, in addition to the swap that happened next to us. 

 

There may be cabins without neighbors but given that they re-filled the vacated cabin next to us even though they had already heard from us that there was a noise problem, I am not sure we could count on an empty cabin staying empty.

Sorry to hear about this. We will be sailing on the Sky next year and we also have a standard balcony on Baja. This will be a TA and we will be sailing for 27 days, really hope it is not the same room as yours. Could you tell us were you are on Baja, aft, mid, front? We might want to upgrade if we are to have this problem.

[sunny88]

Agree with "Dog", stay away E deck mid section on Port side for now.

We saw 3 rooms were moved out last week on E deck.

[franktown]

Just asked friends who recently were on the Sky in a standard balcony and they only heard muffled sounds.  They had a family with a very young child on one side and a adult couple on the other side.  Have you asked others if they are experiencing the same problem?

[PacnGoNow]

13 hours ago, minabruuke said:

We're currently on the Sky Princess and we can hear the people and the TV in the room next to us so clearly that it sounds like they are actually in our room. It is not muffled in the slightest. 

 

Here's the thing...I don't think the neighbors are the problem but rather there is absolutely no sound proofing. There was originally another family in that room. We could hear them just as clearly. I asked guest services if what we were experiencing was normal; they just said they'd have someone check it out. But they also told us that family was actually moving out and into a mini-suite for some extra space. Awesome, problem solved! Only they moved a new couple in there this evening (there are 100's of empty cabins this cruise so they didn't need to do this) and we're back to hearing everything. 

 

I am Elite with Princess so I have experience with their ships. I have never experienced anything like this. Hall noise and doors slamming are things I expect but this is unacceptable and frankly an invasion in privacy (if I can make out their conversations word for word then they must also be able to hear us that clearly). Has anyone else noticed a problem on the Sky Princess? Is this a known problem with these newest ships? Or is it possible that some sort of noise barrier is missing between these two cabins?

Have you asked others on your roll call?

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

12 hours ago, minabruuke said:

 I actually asked if it was possible there was missing sound proofing between these two cabins and I just got a "if you're unhappy with your cabin, we're happy to move you" rather than an answer.

While the staff at the Guest Relations desk are generally very good...they have NO idea as to how the ship was built and/or construction materials used.  That is just above their pay grade.

[PacnGoNow]

4 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

While the staff at the Guest Relations desk are generally very good...they have NO idea as to how the ship was built and/or construction materials used.  That is just above their pay grade.

The Chief Engineer would know. Hmmm

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 minute ago, PacnGoNow said:

The Chief Engineer would know. Hmmm

Possibly/probably...but I don't think he/(she?) hangs around Guest Services!

Edited December 19, 2022 by Rick&Jeannie

[ChutChut]

just off the Sky a few weeks ago. Probably the quietest cabin I've ever had (on Sun deck). You're probably sailing with tons of families with younger kids crammed into tiny cabins which equates to more noise!

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

I also hope OP comes back with more details as to WHERE Their cabin is Located

so we can avoid.

Were also booked on Sky next year for a couple weeks, midship Dophin Port side.

Thinking we may want to move...

[chengkp75]

2 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

The Chief Engineer would know. Hmmm

Actually, he would likely not know, unless the ceiling panels in the cabins had been taken down for maintenance, to be able to see the inter-cabin spaces.  While senior engineering staff would be present for much of newbuilding (and who's to say that those officers are not on vacation now), much of the hotel construction is supervised by shoreside corporate technical superintendents, rather than shipboard personnel.  I have brought several ships out of the newbuilding yard, and still, years later find surprises that should have been found and corrected by the newbuild team.  One person cannot supervise every aspect of a ship's construction.

[PacnGoNow]

4 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Actually, he would likely not know, unless the ceiling panels in the cabins had been taken down for maintenance, to be able to see the inter-cabin spaces.  While senior engineering staff would be present for much of newbuilding (and who's to say that those officers are not on vacation now), much of the hotel construction is supervised by shoreside corporate technical superintendents, rather than shipboard personnel.  I have brought several ships out of the newbuilding yard, and still, years later find surprises that should have been found and corrected by the newbuild team.  One person cannot supervise every aspect of a ship's construction.

Thank you for that.  It seems it may not be a big issue, as I’ve not seen many complaints about noise on this ship. 
 

[Ontariotrekker]

I was in E529 on the Sky and woke up one night thinking I had company in my room courtesy of the neighbours tv..  It happened a couple of times only so I just put a pillow over my head and went back to sleep.    I was on a B2B and the next folks were very quiet.

 

Shar

[sloopsailor]

10 minutes ago, Ontariotrekker said:

I was in E529 on the Sky and woke up one night thinking I had company in my room courtesy of the neighbor's tv..  It happened a couple of times only so I just put a pillow over my head and went back to sleep.

 

This why I never go on a vacation without a pair of good ear plugs. The kind worn by construction workers are great. 

 

Edited December 19, 2022 by sloopsailor