Noise levels in venues

[Britter16]

It’s so hard to have a conversation in Wheelhouse or Crooner when the bands or musicians perform. The volume of the band in the piazza ruined a dining experience for us on Sky. I like music but more as background entertainment.

[memoak]

I find the noise levels on Royal class ships to be much higher yhsn the older ships due to the design of the piazza with all the venues open go the area

[hsmom]

I had noise canceling earplugs on the Island in January.

[Host Anne]

Thanks for the heads up.  We are on Sky next week and we'll avoid specialty restaurants near loud music venues.  Sadly, most lines are doing this these days.  I don't get it.  We love to listen to music but we also want to be able to talk to each other and friends or family that might be traveling with us.

 

I also put it on our evaluations and those who are bothered by this should do the same.

[Oxo]

Why do they have exercise classes in the Pizza? That is in the morning and the noise level is unbearable!

You cannot have a conversation with others.

We were on the Enchanted Princess for 22 days. It was very disappointing.

JMHO

HAPPY CRUISING! 

[SargassoPirate]

Complain, complain, complain, and then complain some more or it will never change. 

 

Passengers should not have to bring personal hearing protection to be able to enjoy a cruise.

 

The Island Princess has been the exception to my other cruises on Princess.  We find the music in the Plaza enjoyable and not over-amplified.  Same for the Wheelhouse.  The piano player in Crooners is a bit louder than we like, so we avoid it. Even MUTS is not amplified to the point of distortion.

 

The exception has been live music on the Melanoma Deck.  It's so loud that we cannot communicate with the staff to order a burger or a drink - so we don't and we leave.

 

Complain, complain, and complain some more.

[startedwithamouse]

Discovery Princess the MUTS is on close to mute and subtitles.

So much fun watching Top Gun that way. Be careful what you wish for. 

[skynight]

The Wheelhouse is a lounge built for dancing and live music. Crooner's is built for a piano player/singer. These are not soft background music venues. They are very popular locations. So, people enjoy the live music. I also enjoy lively music.  

The Sky is a Royal Class ship where Princess foolishly decided to remove Crooner's. There are very few options other than the Piazza. Royal Class ships really have no dance venues. It's the Piazza.

Background music is nice at times, but really not entertaining. There are times when just a piano player plays background music. 

 

[Paula_MacFan]

17 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

The Island Princess has been the exception to my other cruises on Princess.  We find the music in the Plaza enjoyable and not over-amplified.  Same for the Wheelhouse.  

 

Agreed.  We were on the Island a few months ago and the Piazza volume seemed appropriate.

 

Last week on the Regal the Piazza volume was EAR SPLITTING.  The music was loud but not horrible, but the games and other silly activities were simply intolerable.  We heard so many people complaining about it.  Eating in Alfredo's was a joke with that going on.  Even the wait staff were rolling their eyes.  

 

I did put it on my post cruise survey.  

[SargassoPirate]

22 hours ago, Paula_MacFan said:

 

Agreed.  We were on the Island a few months ago and the Piazza volume seemed appropriate.

 

Last week on the Regal the Piazza volume was EAR SPLITTING.  The music was loud but not horrible, but the games and other silly activities were simply intolerable.  We heard so many people complaining about it.  Eating in Alfredo's was a joke with that going on.  Even the wait staff were rolling their eyes.  

 

I did put it on my post cruise survey.  

We  were on the Regal last year and the music and the staff shouting during the activities in the Piazza there were, seriously, unbearable.  Obviously whomever is in charge of the soundboard has no clue that in a space not designed with acoustics in mind you don't just keep cranking up the volume to overcome the design.

 

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Somebody apparently told Princess that most of their clientele were old...I guess the newly hired staff people think we're all deaf. We will be soon if this continues!

[PacnGoNow]

We complain while OB and talk to the sound guy.  We also put it on our survey EVERY time, but it doesn’t matter.  Why bother?

 

The worst of all…newer ships with the huge piazzas, Enchanted, Sky, etc.  So difficult to order anything or have a conversation.

 

No, exercise class and dance classes do not…..

need to be in front of us.  Go to the Vista lounge, Club Fusion, pool deck, etc.  

Yes, I did buy noise reduction, concert ear plugs for the next cruise.  

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

We very much enjoy The Catch on the Sky...but it is "open" to the Piazza on deck 7 so when they are presenting live music in the evenings it really ruins the mood. Difficult to carry on a conversation with your table mates. 

[nasa1974]

It's not just on Royal class ships. I was on the Crown last October and you couldn't have a conversation with the staff at Passenger Services without yelling. They were complaining to their supervisors about the loud music. That was my second cruise since Covid and I don't remember it being that bad on previous cruises. I thought the piano player at Crooner's played way to loud as well. You want to be entertained but not have to shout at the person next to you.

[Host CJSKIDS]

2 hours ago, Host Anne said:

Thanks for the heads up.  We are on Sky next week and we'll avoid specialty restaurants near loud music venues.  Sadly, most lines are doing this these days.  I don't get it.  We love to listen to music but we also want to be able to talk to each other and friends or family that might be traveling with us.

 

I also put it on our evaluations and those who are bothered by this should do the same.

 

Don't miss out on Catch by Rudi because of the music playing down below, the food is incredible.  The music wasn't that bad, even though I winced a few times at the singer trying to hit a note! My husband and I had no issues talking during the meal or even talking with the people at the table next to us. 

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise.  Even with terrible weather in December, we really enjoyed our sailing on the Sky.  Bon Voyage @Host Anne!!

[Host Anne]

5 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

 

Don't miss out on Catch by Rudi because of the music playing down below, the food is incredible.  The music wasn't that bad, even though I winced a few times at the singer trying to hit a note! My husband and I had no issues talking during the meal or even talking with the people at the table next to us. 

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise.  Even with terrible weather in December, we really enjoyed our sailing on the Sky.  Bon Voyage @Host Anne!!

 

THANKS so very much, Host CJSKIDS!  We will definitely check our Rudi's Catch.  It will be interesting to see if the music changes in the venues due to it being an Irish Music Cruise.  I'll come back and let everyone know how the sound levels are.  We plan on having a fantastic time!!!  Thanks again!

[leck57]

Personally I like the music sound level in Crooners or Wheelhouse and I don't expect to have a private conversation while a muso is playing. They only play for 45 minutes so either just wait or move to a quieter area. However,  as some have said, I fail to see why some activities are conducted in the Piazza. Some are just noisy and could be done elsewhere.

[Over from NZ]

6 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Somebody apparently told Princess that most of their clientele were old...I guess the newly hired staff people think we're all deaf. We will be soon if this continues!

I think the problem is.. most of Princess's clientele is old! Hence the complaints about noise. Wife and I don't have a problem with it at all.. 🙂 

[OzKiwiJJ]

Sometimes the worst noise-makers are passengers themselves.

 

We were on a Coral cruise in 2022. Crooners was always packed after dinners so we usually went to Good Spirits for a nightcap. That was great until a large group of up to 12 people took over one section of that small bar. Usually from early afternoon until late evening. Because of the type of seating there their group went from one side to the other of the seating area and shouted conversations with someone furtherest away from them were common.  

[Hlitner]

So let me try to understand the various posts.  Music venues are not good because they have music which makes conversation difficult.  Other venues are no good because folks who are talking disturb others.  Muts is too loud,  Muts is not loud enough!  That being said, I truly disliked that the Sky Princess has no Crooners (or another similar option).

 

What am I missing?

 

Hank

[SCX22]

36 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

So let me try to understand the various posts.  Music venues are not good because they have music which makes conversation difficult.  Other venues are no good because folks who are talking disturb others.  Muts is too loud,  Muts is not loud enough!  That being said, I truly disliked that the Sky Princess has no Crooners (or another similar option).

 

What am I missing?

 

Hank

 

It's because of Princess's affinity for open concept spaces on their ships.  They don't want to build walls and put up doors.  They want all the venues to blend into each other so people can eavesdrop on all the activities.  To me Take Five is one of the best music/dance venues.  Not to loud when you're inside and the place has 4 walls and doors that will block the sounds from going out of the venue.

[Hlitner]

43 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

 

It's because of Princess's affinity for open concept spaces on their ships.  They don't want to build walls and put up doors.  They want all the venues to blend into each other so people can eavesdrop on all the activities.  To me Take Five is one of the best music/dance venues.  Not to loud when you're inside and the place has 4 walls and doors that will block the sounds from going out of the venue.

Good point.  I really like Take 5, but that is mostly because it fits with my love of jazz.  But the open concept has become very common on large ships.  It just fits with the concept of an active atrium.  We do a lot of cruising on small luxury ships where they do not have those large open spaces.  But we do understand that large ships mean lots of noise!   My point is that folks book these large mass market ships and expect something akin to a quieter laid-back vessel.  Bad choices lead to unsatisfactory outcomes.  I am always puzzled when cruisers complain about certain lines and ship designs, but keep booking those same lines/ships.  Sometimes it is just the right time to move on.

 

Hank

[Potstech]

People have been complaining about this issue for years.  And nothing has really changed.  Expecting it to change anytime soon is a dream (or a nightmare).

[SargassoPirate]

Too loud, not loud enough, too spicy, not spicy enough,  too many sea days, not enough sea days - many things are subjective but any industrial hygienist or any competent audiologist will tells you that noise levels such that you cannot carry on a conversation with someone about three feet away is too loud and will damage your hearing.  However, most people don't realize it. And some will even tell you they are used to the noise - which translates to they've already lost some hearing.

 

Over amplification to the point of sound distortion will never make up for a space not designed with acoustics in mind, such as MUTS or the Plaza/Piazza.

[dns65]

13 hours ago, memoak said:

I find the noise levels on Royal class ships to be much higher yhsn the older ships due to the design of the piazza with all the venues open go the area

 

We're pretty much done sailing with Royal class.  We loved the older ships, new ships came out with numerous not so good things like smaller balconies and rooms and that awful noisy piazza.  Last trip on Enchanted, Sabatini's was a horrible experience with all that intrusive noise while you are trying to enjoy a nice dinner.    We're sticking to the older ships