Visit from upgrade fairy's evil twin

[Crzn-Life]

Booked a guaranty, gambled and lost...big time.

 

We read on the board from many of you who received really nice upgrades so we were very hopeful that it would happen for us too. But...it was not to be. Instead of a visit from the upgrade fairy, the upgrade gremlin called on us.

 

We received our cabin assignment and it was aft on Riviera...right under the buffet. Asked for a different cabin, but it appears that the only ones available are in close proximity.

 

Can someone who has stayed in any of the cabins listed below please tell us how bad the noise from the buffet is? If you've stayed in these cabins on the Ruby, Crown or Emerald, they're all the same so your input would be greatly appreciated.

 

The cabins are 630, 631, 633, 702 and 703 on the Riviera deck.

 

We know that booking a guaranty and hoping for a nice upgrade is risky but we foolishly decided to take the chance believing that our luck would hold out. Lesson learned. We won't do it again.

[TwinCruiserMom]

My friend had a balcony on the Riviera deck 600s on the Crown and she loved it. Remember, they are closing down the Horizon Court earlier in the night now, at least by midnight. And my friend did not have any problems with noise from the buffet anyhow.

 

I would love that location as it is close to the Terrace pool and there is a laundry room close by and elevators too.

 

On the Riviera deck, people mostly complain about cabins under the pool, not the buffet. The buffet is carpeted in the dining areas and since you are in a balcony cabin, there is not going to be any foot traffic over you.

 

Have a wonderful cruise :)

[High C's]

We were in that location the first time we were on CB, and loved it. No problem with noise whatsoever. I'm sure you'll be fine. Have a great cruise! :)

[Crzn-Life]

Thanks for the responses, TwinCruiserMom and HighC's.

 

You are definitely making us feel better about the cabin assignment. :)

 

DH is a light sleeper in the early a.m. and any noise wakes him up so he is very concerned about being awakened early.

 

We typically don't go to the buffets so don't know much about them. Since there won't be any lunches in the MDR except sea & turn-around days anymore we'll be learning more about the buffet if we are onboard at lunch time.

[kaebuckeyelake]

We actually purposely selected the same location (will be in R702 on Nov 26 sailing) due to the proximity to the Terrace Pool and easy access to stairs. Have fun and enjoy!

[cherylandtk]

You probably need to apologize to the Upgrade Fairy....she did well by you. :) You got a BB or BC in a reasonable location. She could have given you much worse, as in L219 and forward. I agree with the others, aft Riviera under the carpeted HC are not bad assignments. The carpeted area is not noisy as the open decks are.

 

As for the future, and with the statement that your DH is a light sleeper, I also agree you should never book any cabin GTY again. Pick your location based on your needs and mark it No Upgrade.

[Essiesmom]

http://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/Main/dragit2.php?ship=Ruby%20Princess

 

If you drag the decks here, you can see that your cabins are near the stairs/elevators, so you wouldn't have noise from the buffet area. Looks like she wasn't the wicked witch, after all. EM

[TwinCruiserMom]

I am a fairly light sleeper too and I take ear plugs. We had noisy neighbors on our HAL cruise and I was so glad I brought them! The most comfortable ones I have found are the ones made for swimmers that keep the water out of the ear canal. They are mold-able plastic balls and conform to the shape of your ear, unlike foam ear plugs.

 

You just never know what your neighbors will be like or if your room happens to be by the steward's closet, etc. I have had much better quality of sleep on cruise ships since I started wearing the ear plugs.

 

Happy cruising!

[geoherb]

I wouldn't mind one of those cabins on our upcoming Crown Princess cruise. We have a BE guarantee and are still waiting.

 

We had a balcony cabin under the Horizon Court on the Golden Princess. We never had any problems with noise.

[PescadoAmarillo]

We always stay in that area. We booked 18 months in advanced to get it. The only other location i would stay on the ship is Plaza Deck. Once you've stayed in that area, I bet you'll never book GTY again; you'll always book that area and mark your booking NO upgrade.

 

You done good.

[tennisobo]

I agree with others. I think you got a very nice stateroom. We had an inside in that location once and there was no noise that I can remember. It's much better to be under the buffet than under the pool deck area. I mean which sounds quieter to you?....a room under a deck where the loungers are being dragged around, or a room under the carpeted buffet area? You definitely could have done worse. All that said, it doesn't sound like guarantee bookings are right for you. And I also agree that you should take earplugs. No matter what stateroom you are in, you can have noisy neighbors or noisy pedestrians in the halls on occasion.

[Aquarian]

We were upgraded to that same location a couple of years ago and we loved it. It is so close to the Terrace pool, Caribe Cafe and the noise is minimal if not nonexistent. I think you will really like this location.

[Liz54]

You probably need to apologize to the Upgrade Fairy....she did well by you. :) You got a BB or BC in a reasonable location. She could have given you much worse, as in L219 and forward. I agree with the others, aft Riviera under the carpeted HC are not bad assignments. The carpeted area is not noisy as the open decks are.

 

As for the future, and with the statement that your DH is a light sleeper, I also agree you should never book any cabin GTY again. Pick your location based on your needs and mark it No Upgrade.

 

 

We love the Lido Deck Cheryl, Whats wrong with L219?

[spyro1952]

I recently received the exact same upgrade on my CB cruise in July, R627. The first night I had trouble sleeping and I did hear some noise from the deck above around 4 am. After the first night I slept much better and really wasn't bothered with it. I did like the close proximity to the Terrace pool and the rear elevators.

[4cats4me]

Do you mean aft FACING cabins or in the aft section, because if you're aft

facing you're not under Horizon court.

[pablo222]

The cabins are 630, 631, 633, 702 and 703 on the Riviera deck.

 

I've had the 70x cabins many times, to be close to the elevator,

and never had a problem with noise.

 

It's very handy to run up one deck to the lido.

 

Or, it used to be, when the lido was actually open.

[cruisesusie]

We were on the Caribbean Princess 2 weeks ago on Riviera deck - 739. It was our first time on that deck and we were concerned about possible noise. There was absolutely no noise and it was a very convenient location - a few steps from the aft pool and the buffet. We would stay in that cabin again.

 

Susan

[cherylandtk]

We love the Lido Deck Cheryl, Whats wrong with L219?

That cabin (and forward) on the starboard side are under the gym and subject to quite a bit of pounding and thumping overhead.

[southpawsdakota]

When people are light sleepers as I am I would recommend getting a white noise machine. I NEVER travel without it. It is the best investment I have ever made. There is no need for ear plugs the noise just drown out everything even my DH snoring, lol!:D

[Crzn-Life]

Many thanks for your responses that reassured us the cabin location isn't as bad as we feared. We've gone from feeling so worried that we were considering cancelling the cruise to now feeling much better about the cabin assignment.

 

 

We also greatly appreciate the advice re dealing with noise.

 

We hope the upgrade fairy will forgive us for being so pessimistic, but we were expecting the worst when we saw the available cabins were under the buffet. We hope that all will turn out well and that we'll be able to offer a formal apology and make amends. One definitely doesn't want to be on the upgrade fairy's s#%# list. ;)

 

Thanks again. CC folks, you're the greatest.

[lovevacadays]

Sounds like you did good after all. Congrats! The Buffet area is carpeted so you wouldn't hear chairs being dragged like some do who are under the Lido deck area.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[PescadoAmarillo]

You'll read that people say to always book a cabin on a deck with cabins above and below you, but, in our experience, the very worst cabin we were ever assigned had a deck of cabins above and below us. We have now learned to stay clear of the bulkhead cabins (I think that's what you call them) on either side of the watertight doors. Things are stored along those that can rattle and knock in any kind of waves, and the sound echoes all up and down those chambers.

[missymerv]

Had it not been for the upgrade fairy last year I probably would not be on Cruise Critic this year counting down the days to my cruise on the Crown. Got the upgrade from Plaza to Riviera 621. Only noise complaint was the next door neighbors grandchildren.

[shofer]

That cabin (and forward) on the starboard side are under the gym and subject to quite a bit of pounding and thumping overhead.

 

I am so glad to hear you say this as we booked a BF GTY and got category BA, room L209. Since my cruise partner is prone to motion sickness and this was quite forward, I asked our TA to please ask Princess move us to a lower deck more midship. We got another BA but on Caribe deck a bit more centrally located.

 

I had looked at the deck plans and noticed it was under the gym and was concerned about the noise, especially early AM.

[LI new cruiser]

A few years ago my cousin had a room on Lido forward and she was directly under the gym. Every morning between 6:30 and 7:00 there was the thumping of the bar bells being dropped on the floor. She was not happy.

On another note you will definitely be happy with a cabin on Caribe. The balconies are great!