Carnival Says OK to Prop Balcony Doors Open

[chengkp75]

21 minutes ago, EngIceDave said:

They can be literally pulled out and replaced like a Lego block.

This is not quite accurate.  While the cabins are modular, and are installed as a unit, they go in in order, through a hole cut in the hull at each deck.  So, the furthest cabin from the hole goes in first, and unless you take them out the same order, or cut another hole at the cabin, you can't just pull a cabin out.

[chasinraynbowz]

4 hours ago, jerseyjjs said:

I would venture to guess Heald is referring to the sliding glass doors that Carnival FINALLY put on their most recent builds.  Not the heavy swing doors that one needs a bungee cord or cabin furniture to prop open.

Ours was a heavy swing door on the Celebration (we were in a Cove Balcony).  We just stuck a bottle of water in the door so it would not close all the way.  

[camarowesley]

6 hours ago, ray98 said:

Funny....I have received this info first hand when dealing with an interior cabin that struggled to go below 80 at night directly from an engineer on board when the problem escalated above the maintenance guy they sent first.  He flat out told me that was the problem and went down the hall until he found the offending balcony cabin which he located due to air moving from the hallway under the door.

We haven't cruises with Carnival in a while because we couldn't get our cabin cool enough to sleep. We resorted to sleeping on the Serenity Deck one night. We were told by our room steward & maintenance it was due to people propping their balcony doors open. While that may be part of the cause, I think there are other factors.

I remember when the cabins were so cold my camera lens would fog up when I went on the balcony to take photos. I dont think propping balcony doors open is a new thing. I think its some cost saving adjustment Carmival made.

[Tiger0613]

4 hours ago, jerseyjjs said:

I would venture to guess Heald is referring to the sliding glass doors that Carnival FINALLY put on their most recent builds.  Not the heavy swing doors that one needs a bungee cord or cabin furniture to prop open.

On the 2/5/23 sailing, the balcony door for cabin 6282 on the Glory stayed open on its own.  It took more effort than usual to open.  Once open, it didn't budge no matter how windy it was.  It only closed when I pushed it shut.  I wasn't trying to leave it open.

[BTromboneFrack]

We were on the Glory last spring.  Our balcony door did not shut all the way and we were not aware that it had not shut.   In the late afternoon, we noticed our air conditioner wasn't working.  The room was getting warmer.   We called maintenance and they sent someone up right away.   After checking everything he could with the system, he noticed the balcony door was not closed all the way.   He told us the air conditioning turns off when the door is open for too long.  If they don't have this feature, condensation builds up in the room due to the moisture in the outside air and the cold air in the room.   In the past they had water damage in some of the rooms due to this problem, so they have put a master switch on air conditioners that shuts it off when the outside door is open.

 

[kdr69]

14 hours ago, Carnival Cheerleader said:

I'm curious as to when John Heald got his HVAC license and would know the actual answer to such a question.

probably by asking someone with a license?  Like a chief engineer perhaps?  I hear tell they have a couple at Carnival......Just a guess mind you. 😉

 

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, kdr69 said:

probably by asking someone with a license?  Like a chief engineer perhaps?  I hear tell they have a couple at Carnival......Just a guess mind you. 😉

 

He really doesn't.  He doesn't bother to check on even basic guest policies, just sets up crew for guests yelling "John says".  

[kdr69]

3 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

He really doesn't.  He doesn't bother to check on even basic guest policies, just sets up crew for guests yelling "John says".  

Well i havent read anyting from him that has been inaccurate but that must just be me, maybe i missed one or two.

[Elaine5715]

25 minutes ago, kdr69 said:

Well i havent read anyting from him that has been inaccurate but that must just be me, maybe i missed one or two.

My favorite was him telling  people to say "John Heald said everyone in their group could use the Priority Waiting Area and board together".   Watched a group of 20+ scream at crew that "John said" and tried to push into an already full Captain's Room in POM.  

[Top_of_the_Cube]

Just an observation, for years John Heald has advised that it is okay to leave your balcony door open.  This isn't a new thing. 

 

It does puzzle me, though, as it goes against the signage displayed in the cabins.  I appreciate those knowledgeable folks on CC explaining how the system actually works.

 

Anyone experience the wind tunnel effect?

[hard_eight]

2 hours ago, Top_of_the_Cube said:

Just an observation, for years John Heald has advised that it is okay to leave your balcony door open.  This isn't a new thing. 

 

It does puzzle me, though, as it goes against the signage displayed in the cabins.  I appreciate those knowledgeable folks on CC explaining how the system actually works.

 

Anyone experience the wind tunnel effect?

I've definitely felt the wind rush in from the hallway on older ships. Didn't notice it on Celebration.

[ibarrio]

Heard there is a magnetic trick to keep the air on while your door is open. Regardless, at night it probably will be cool enough to turn off the air and prop the door open. Especially for us who come from desert states

Edited February 23, 2023 by ibarrio

[kdr69]

7 minutes ago, Carnival Cheerleader said:

Since we have an actual engineer stating otherwise, I'm going to guess that your guess is incorrect.

and Carnival's Engineers are not actual Engineers? If i only had a dollar for every time 2 Engineers disagreed.....🤣

[chengkp75]

1 minute ago, Carnival Cheerleader said:

I was referring to your guess that John Heald actually asked an engineer. While engineers may disagree on how best to repair a broken system, most engineers do not disagree on how a system operates (speaking as an Engineer myself).

As I said, the likelihood that Heald asked the right question, or understood the technical answer is up for question.

[sanmarcosman]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

As I said, the likelihood that Heald asked the right question, or understood the technical answer is up for question.

I was freezing in my cabin Feb. 7-10th with the thermostat set to heating. Two HVAC crew stopped by and said they would adjust some settings. After their visit the space had less airflow, from what I could tell, but no warm air was coming through.

I sail the same ship on Monday, Chief, so my question to you is: if I am cold ( and we are expecting more daytime temps in the low 50's and a first ever blizzard alert for the San Bernardino mountains here in SD County) what do I need to verbally express to the crew who come to my cabin when requesting heat? I'll gladly accept the answer "request a portable heater" if that is even an option.

Signed, Cold in San Diego

P.S. Will the armchair marine engineers please wait until after the Chief replies to me, please.) 

Edited February 24, 2023 by sanmarcosman

[Homosassa]

20 hours ago, Top_of_the_Cube said:

 

 

Anyone experience the wind tunnel effect?

Not only the wind tunnel effect in the hallways, but had damage done to my cabin when the fools next door left their balcony door open and exited  their cabin.

 

There was an apparent wind speed of approximately 37 mph hitting and moving down the starboard side of the ship.  Our cabins were on the port side. 

 

The immediate drop in pressure as the hallway door was opened  (think Venturi and Bernoulli) caused our common cabin wall to bow inwards and caused doors of cabinets to hang crookedly and a shelf to come down.

 

Similar damage was done to the cabin on the other side.

[chengkp75]

23 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

what do I need to verbally express to the crew who come to my cabin when requesting heat?

The cabin recirculation system will generally not provide a lot of heat, as there is only a small electric resistance heater.  The fresh air system requires them to switch the set point to a higher temperature, and switch from chilled water to steam heat.  If if is going to be only a day or two of low temperatures, they may not want to open up the steam heat system (can provide a lot of noise from water hammer as the system warms up), just to shut it off again, but they can likely raise the setpoint on the fresh air handler for your block of cabins, so that it just doesn't cool off the incoming air (stops the chilled water from cooling the air).

[BlerkOne]

On 2/22/2023 at 10:53 AM, sanmarcosman said:

Carnival's brand ambassador says leaving the balcony doors propped open won't affect the temps in OTHER cabins. I've read to the contrary here by a recently retired Merchant Marine Chief Engineer. What are the facts, please?

" I was asked if it is OK for people to sleep with the balcony door open? The answer is yes, you can, and it doesn’t actually affect the air-conditioning in any other cabin, except yours." 

Who, AFAIK, never worked for Carnival.

 

The cabin ventilation system on the newer Carnival ships is different from that on the older ships.

[Joebucks]

The real question is how much do you tip the maintenance worker

[sanmarcosman]

20 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

The real question is how much do you tip the maintenance worker

I suppose it could be like room service and it's customary to tip $1 for every one degree rise in temperature. 🙂

 

[DANCING GRANDMOMMY]

On 2/22/2023 at 9:00 AM, chasinraynbowz said:

I just got off the Celebration and can confirm that the AC does go off if you leave the balcony door open.  My cabin mate loved having the door open so she could listen to the waves.  Our cabin stayed warm when she propped the door open.

Would you share how she was able to prop the door open. I would love some ideals Those doors weigh a ton and I am fearful of my hand being chopped off. 

 

[EngIceDave]

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

The real question is how much do you tip the maintenance worker

 

I am taking their tip off next time since I can't air condition my balcony

[chengkp75]

14 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Who, AFAIK, never worked for Carnival.

 

The cabin ventilation system on the newer Carnival ships is different from that on the older ships.

So, are you saying that the newer Carnival ships don't bring fresh air into the cabins?  Or, are there thousands of little ducts that snake all through the ship to bring fresh air to each individual cabin?  And, each one of these thousands of little ducts has a separate fan to move the air into the cabin?

Edited February 25, 2023 by chengkp75

[BlerkOne]

11 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

So, are you saying that the newer Carnival ships don't bring fresh air into the cabins?  Or, are there thousands of little ducts that snake all through the ship to bring fresh air to each individual cabin?  And, each one of these thousands of little ducts has a separate fan to move the air into the cabin?

None of the above am I saying.

[chengkp75]

54 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

None of the above am I saying.

Then how are the systems different?