Room 848 (or 833) on the Ryndam (Aft on A deck)

[pseudochicken]

Hey all,

 

I just found out that I got room 848 for my upcoming cruise. I am very excited about going to the Caribbean for week on a cruise... Ah...

 

I have been doing some researching and I am VERY nervous about the room we have been given. Room 848 is the most very AFT room on the lowest deck (Deck A) on the Ryndam. The location itself is not so much a problem as is what room 848 is next to. Apparently it is the rigging room where they store a lot of the ropes and such for docking and apparently there can be quite a bit of noise in the early morning (even well before docking).

 

I am a VERY light sleeper. A pin drops inside my neighbor's house (300 yards away) and I am awake. I was wondering if any others here on the boards have had experience with the rooms towards the very back of Deck A and could comment on the noise level.

 

Am I in for some long nights and very cranky days and HAL getting a horrible review from me? Or are the noise levels not that bad/very short and easily tolerable?

 

Is there anything I can do now that my room has already been selected? I'd be willing to downgrade to porthole windows if that puts me somewhere where the noise levels are low.

[CowPrincess]

Not gonna lie to you :( We were one deck up and a few cabins forward, and we knew every time that anything happened -- thrusters, chains (or whatever, dunno, loud and metallic-sounding). We knew when we were docking in Topolobampo (4 a.m.), we knew when we were manouevering into port/dock.

 

edited to add: the noise generally didn't go on for very long, and we were usually able to get back to sleep.

 

That said, WAY FAR forward won't be any better for you, I suspect, as the sound of the ship hitting the waves may be disruptive to your sleep, and there are also mechanical things up there, too, I think.

 

The good thing about being that low in the ship is you will not hear noise from people walking on the Promenade deck, which is what TRULY drove us crazy intermittently. Two people with VERY distinctive gaits would do lap after lap, early in the morning. Thumper and Thunderfoot woke us a lot more than ship noises did. They were SO heavy-footed and odd-gaited, within 3 days we could identify them out in public, just by how they walked.

[CowPrincess]

long nights and very cranky days and HAL getting a horrible review from me?

 

Why would HAL get a horrible review because you went with a guarantee cabin instead of selecting one for yourself?

[pseudochicken]

Why would HAL get a horrible review because you went with a guarantee cabin instead of selecting one for yourself?

 

Oh TRUST me I would have picked my cabin if I could have. I booked this cruise three + months out (only opportunity) and were only able to select guaranteed. Our other option was in March and that was only guaranteed as well.

 

That categories available to us were the following:

 

Inside, Guar

Outside w/ Porthole, Guar

Outside w/ Picture Window, Guar

Veranda, Guar

Suite, Guar

 

This was done over the phone because we had a voucher coupon deducting a large portion of the cost. But even when I looked to book online, the only options were Guaranteed. Previously, when shopping for cruises and looking around, I noticed that HAL was always Guarantee. I have never seen HAL allow you to actually choose your room before.

[CowPrincess]

Previously, when shopping for cruises and looking around, I noticed that HAL was always Guarantee. I have never seen HAL allow you to actually choose your room before.

 

One of the reasons we usually book a loooooong time out -- in order to get a cabin we want. We booked 15 months out to get the cabin we wanted for our upcoming cruise. We ended up booking a guarantee after a bunch of messing around, on our FIFTH booking #. So much has gone wrong with our booking(s) on this upcoming cruise, I'm fairly certain we'll get a lousy cabin. We've had FIVE different booking #s, for this one cruise, for a variety of reasons -- all were HAL's "issues". But we'll be on the ship, which is the most important thing!

 

IMHO, when one books a guarantee, one gets to participate in "luck of the draw" :) When one books a guarantee, regardless of the reason, one has to be prepared to get the worst cabin in the selected category.

 

I guess you can give HAL a scathing review if you want, seeing as you seem to be in that frame of mind already, but waiting until 3 months before sailing to book was your choice.

[Starr Mtn]

From the info posted to your question, it does sound

as though this might not be a good cabin for you.

 

Perhaps you could ask your TA if you could pay extra

to get a better location ? Something might be

available now that wasn't when all you could book

was a guarantee ?

[pseudochicken]

One of the reasons we usually book a loooooong time out -- in order to get a cabin we want. We booked 15 months out to get the cabin we wanted for our upcoming cruise. We ended up booking a guarantee after a bunch of messing around, on our FIFTH booking #. So much has gone wrong with our booking(s) on this upcoming cruise, I'm fairly certain we'll get a lousy cabin. We've had FIVE different booking #s, for this one cruise, for a variety of reasons -- all were HAL's "issues". But we'll be on the ship, which is the most important thing!

 

IMHO, when one books a guarantee, one gets to participate in "luck of the draw" :) When one books a guarantee, regardless of the reason, one has to be prepared to get the worst cabin in the selected category.

 

I guess you can give HAL a scathing review if you want, seeing as you seem to be in that frame of mind already, but waiting until 3 months before sailing to book was your choice.

 

I will not give HAL a scathing review unless it is deserved.

 

And waiting until 3 months before sailing to book was our choice. But did you stop to consider that perhaps it was our only choice... That or not cruise at all. The first full week in January was our ONLY option for a vacation for a long while. When the opportunity presented itself 3 months ago we booked it. I am sorry but we do not have the luxury of knowing what our schedule will be like 15 months ahead of time.

 

I don't feel like I should have to defend myself because of when I booked. HAL was our cheapest week long vacation option so we went with them. This will also be our opportunity to try out HAL. I just hope we can give it a fair judgment due to our cabin's location.

[RuthC]

And waiting until 3 months before sailing to book was our choice. But did you stop to consider that perhaps it was our only choice... That or not cruise at all.

So, you acknowledge there was a choice. It is unfair of you to blame HAL if you do not like the location of your cabin.

 

As someone else posted, your choice now is to contact your TA and see if you can be changed to another cabin, or pay for an upgrade, or accept what you purchased.

[CowPrincess]

Am I in for some long nights and very cranky days and HAL getting a horrible review from me?

 

 

I will not give HAL a scathing review unless it is deserved.

 

Your first post made it sound as though you'd already decided that HAL would be getting a horrible review (your words) if your cabin was not to your liking.

 

BTW, did you get an upgrade, or did you get a cabin in the category you booked? IF you got upgraded, perhaps you could request a cabin in the cat. you originally booked? And someone else could get the "upgrade".

 

If you are doing W. Carib, I don't think the port times are terribly early, so that should help with sleep disruptions.

 

Just had a look at the deck plans, and you're in an FF -- for noise levels, even a downgrade may not help you much. If you got an HH on Lower Prom there's a good chance of overhead noise, and the Gs on A Deck are handicapped, so may be required for H/C pax. The Hs look not bad on A deck except they are quite forward (700 and 701 would likely have noise and be quite "rocky")

 

Probably as suggested by another poster, your best bet would be to see if you can pay more for another cabin.

 

I don't feel like I should have to defend myself because of when I booked.

 

I didn't say you should have to defend yourself, but you said you'd never seen HAL offer the choice of choosing the cabin you wanted. I told you how we (and presumably other people) were able to pick our cabins.

[Arwen]

Hey all,

 

I just found out that I got room 848 for my upcoming cruise. I am very excited about going to the Caribbean for week on a cruise... Ah...

 

I have been doing some researching and I am VERY nervous about the room we have been given. Room 848 is the most very AFT room on the lowest deck (Deck A) on the Ryndam. The location itself is not so much a problem as is what room 848 is next to. Apparently it is the rigging room where they store a lot of the ropes and such for docking and apparently there can be quite a bit of noise in the early morning (even well before docking).

 

I am a VERY light sleeper. A pin drops inside my neighbor's house (300 yards away) and I am awake. I was wondering if any others here on the boards have had experience with the rooms towards the very back of Deck A and could comment on the noise level.

 

Am I in for some long nights and very cranky days and HAL getting a horrible review from me? Or are the noise levels not that bad/very short and easily tolerable?

 

Is there anything I can do now that my room has already been selected? I'd be willing to downgrade to porthole windows if that puts me somewhere where the noise levels are low.

 

I am going to jump into the fray here and empathize with you! For our New Zealand cruise last February on the Volendam, (6th cruise), hubby and I carefully studied the deck plan ahead of time to note where crew doors were, elevators, galley, etc. We wanted a reasonably quiet room. So we picked a cabin that looked fine to us and booked it.

 

The cabin was on A deck. Well, what we didn't know is that there was a lot of noise every morning when the ship docked.....really loud. But what was more irritating was a constant vibration that was nonstop and actually shook our bed. After repeatedly asking for help with the situation and two nights with little to no sleep, I called the front desk at 3:00 a.m. Two guys in white jumpsuits shortly came to our cabin and listened. No explanation from them, but, to our surprise, the next day we got a call that we were being moved to a new cabin. The new cabin on deck A was blessedly quiet.

 

Personally, I feel that HAL should at least let people know about the worst rooms. They already let people know about a partially obstructed view, but for those few rooms that are unbearably noisy, it seems that that people could be forewarned. I know I may get flamed for saying that.

 

Perhaps folks with "not so acute hearing" may be fine with such ultra noisy cabins and others where it certainly will ruin a long awaited vacation. In my case, the first cabin we had on the Volendam was so bad I couldn't sleep.....even with earplugs! I couldn't bear the thought of two weeks without a decent night's sleep.

 

I agree with another poster who suggested to try to do an upgrade. It would be worth it to pay more to get a better cabin. And now is the time to do it as HAL is in the final stages of finalizing assignments. Hubby and I just accepted an upsell from our selected ocean view(main) to a verandah suite on deck (6).

 

If you cannot upgrade then once you are on the ship and if the noise is truly unbearable, you need to let the front desk know. You will need to be persistent and polite. If it is really bad, have the engineers come to your cabin at 3:00 a.m. and let them have a "listen". That seemed to do the trick for us in getting a quieter cabin.

Good luck!;)

[pseudochicken]

So, you acknowledge there was a choice. It is unfair of you to blame HAL if you do not like the location of your cabin.

 

As someone else posted, your choice now is to contact your TA and see if you can be changed to another cabin, or pay for an upgrade, or accept what you purchased.

 

Yes. It was my choice to cruise on HAL. We won a voucher for them at a raffle and wanted to go on a Caribbean cruise sometime this winter when we had the time. The opportunity was perfect to try HAL and not break the bank doing so.

 

It is not fair to blame HAL for the cabin location, but it IS completely fair to blame HAL for a swath of noisy cabins (as it appears all the Aft A cabins are). It just so happens we are in the worst cabin for that. Maybe that will be addressed in Ryndam's upcoming drydock but that'll be after my cruise.

 

Your first post made it sound as though you'd already decided that HAL would be getting a horrible review (your words) if your cabin was not to your liking.

 

BTW, did you get an upgrade, or did you get a cabin in the category you booked? IF you got upgraded, perhaps you could request a cabin in the cat. you originally booked? And someone else could get the "upgrade".

 

If you are doing W. Carib, I don't think the port times are terribly early, so that should help with sleep disruptions.

 

Just had a look at the deck plans, and you're in an FF -- for noise levels, even a downgrade may not help you much. If you got an HH on Lower Prom there's a good chance of overhead noise, and the Gs on A Deck are handicapped, so may be required for H/C pax. The Hs look not bad on A deck except they are quite forward (700 and 701 would likely have noise and be quite "rocky")

 

Probably as suggested by another poster, your best bet would be to see if you can pay more for another cabin.

 

 

 

I didn't say you should have to defend yourself, but you said you'd never seen HAL offer the choice of choosing the cabin you wanted. I told you how we (and presumably other people) were able to pick our cabins.

 

Sorry to seem so heated. I am but not at you and I truly appreciate your advice. I booked directly through HAL so I will see what I can do. But I believe in my case the only possible upgrade will be to a varanda (an extra $720 pp cost). I am not willing to pay that. :(

 

I am going to jump into the fray here and empathize with you! For our New Zealand cruise last February on the Volendam, (6th cruise), hubby and I carefully studied the deck plan ahead of time to note where crew doors were, elevators, galley, etc. We wanted a reasonably quiet room. So we picked a cabin that looked fine to us and booked it.

 

The cabin was on A deck. Well, what we didn't know is that there was a lot of noise every morning when the ship docked.....really loud. But what was more irritating was a constant vibration that was nonstop and actually shook our bed. After repeatedly asking for help with the situation and two nights with little to no sleep, I called the front desk at 3:00 a.m. Two guys in white jumpsuits shortly came to our cabin and listened. No explanation from them, but, to our surprise, the next day we got a call that we were being moved to a new cabin. The new cabin on deck A was blessedly quiet.

 

Personally, I feel that HAL should at least let people know about the worst rooms. They already let people know about a partially obstructed view, but for those few rooms that are unbearably noisy, it seems that that people could be forewarned. I know I may get flamed for saying that.

 

Perhaps folks with "not so acute hearing" may be fine with such ultra noisy cabins and others where it certainly will ruin a long awaited vacation. In my case, the first cabin we had on the Volendam was so bad I couldn't sleep.....even with earplugs! I couldn't bear the thought of two weeks without a decent night's sleep.

 

I agree with another poster who suggested to try to do an upgrade. It would be worth it to pay more to get a better cabin. And now is the time to do it as HAL is in the final stages of finalizing assignments. Hubby and I just accepted an upsell from our selected ocean view(main) to a verandah suite on deck (6).

 

If you cannot upgrade then once you are on the ship and if the noise is truly unbearable, you need to let the front desk know. You will need to be persistent and polite. If it is really bad, have the engineers come to your cabin at 3:00 a.m. and let them have a "listen". That seemed to do the trick for us in getting a quieter cabin.

Good luck!;)

 

Thank you for sympathizing!! Sorry that you had such a noisy cruise! My girlfriend and I will try and make the best of it but it hopefully won't be as bad as your experience... :eek:

[jghllnd1]

I am a rather newbie to cruising, 3 under my belt and booked for a 4th this August all with HAL. This is what I don't understand. The first cruise, booked with a TA, we were able to at the time of booking, pick the rooms, (our whole family went) that we wanted with no problem. On #2 (directly through HAL) we picked the room we wanted and then were pleasantly surprised when we checked in that we were upgraded from a VA to a SY one deck up. On #3 again directly through HAL, picked the exact rooms and that's what we got, again the whole family went . Now for #4, and again booked directly through HAL, we picked from several choices the room that we wanted and yes, the cruise is not until August, but I fully expect that we will be in the room that we asked for at booking. So I guess what I don't understand, is how do people not know what stateroom they are booking and why are they dissapointed with what they picked?

[jghllnd1]

I must add that when we were upgraded to the SY, at the time of booking we did say that we would accept an upgrade, so we knew that would be a possibility, we were just pleasantly surprised because the morning that we left, I checked online and we were still in the VA room, it was not until we got to the port that we found out that we were upgraded. And it was a very nice upgrade and made the 24 + hours to get there worth it.

[RuthC]

Janet, there are two ways to pick a cabin. You can select a specific cabin from whatever is open, or you can book on a "guarantee" basis.

Frequently, people book on a guarantee basis because it is thought to improve your chances of getting assigned a cabin in a higher category---getting an upgrade. Sometimes, a given category is booked as a guarantee only. This is usually for categories that have few cabins, four is an oft-quoted number. Other times it's because it is a shorter segment of a longer cruise, and full cruise passengers get the pick of cabins.

Once in a while, when the guarantee assignments are being shuffled, or close to sailing, the only way to book is as a guarantee.

Hope that helps to explain things to you.

[sylteach]

If you want to stay in the room you selected you need to make sure they know you do not want an upgrade. We did that to make sure we were in cabins next to each other. How about using ear plugs?

[Father of 3]

I am also on the Ryndam in early January, same area, A Deck -Cabin 844, judging by the comments maybe I'll pack a couple sets of disposable earplugs. I booked back in October and I chose those cabins, they fit my budget and I needed two side by side so it seemed like a good thing to do. I will find out and on my next cruise maybe I'll look at other areas on the ship, but maybe not as price is kinda important to me. I will have a good cruise, and hope everything works out noise wise, we are getting excited can't wait to leave the snow behind.

[jghllnd1]

Thanks Ruth for explaining. I have read in several threads about people waiting for room assignments and then either being very happy or unhappy and didn't understand how that worked.

I was only asked the one time at booking if we wanted to be "put on the list" for an upgrade, and guess we were lucky. Since then, we have not been asked, but have also been very happy with what we have picked for staterooms.

Thanks again Ruth.

[pseudochicken]

I am also on the Ryndam in early January, same area, A Deck -Cabin 844, judging by the comments maybe I'll pack a couple sets of disposable earplugs. I booked back in October and I chose those cabins, they fit my budget and I needed two side by side so it seemed like a good thing to do. I will find out and on my next cruise maybe I'll look at other areas on the ship, but maybe not as price is kinda important to me. I will have a good cruise, and hope everything works out noise wise, we are getting excited can't wait to leave the snow behind.

 

I am guessing that since we used a voucher we had no choice but to choose the Guarantee since we booked in early October as well. :confused:

 

I am still excited about the cruise and will try not to lose sleep over losing sleep on the cruise, ha ha. :cool: I just hope there aren't any vibrations like those mentioned in an earlier post. Eeeeks!!! :eek:

[jghllnd1]

pseudochicken - hope you have a wonderful cruise

[pseudochicken]

thank you Janet. I hope your cruise many days from now is your best yet.