Carnival Magic A/C does NOT Cool

[Cruiser from MS]

I thought it was just me. :p I was on the May 19th sailing and my room was so cold I also slept in the robe under the blankets. Maybe you need a room in the refrigerator. :D

 

I was on the same cruise and my cabin was so hot we could not sleep. We were in cabin 10270. I was so disappointed in this cruise because. I contacted Carnival and have not heard anything from them. I was so disappointed in this cruise.

[riclop]

I have to tell you that just about everyone on the Magic was very friendly and did just about everything they could to make our Cruise enjoyable!!! But just because you are friendly does NOT solve problems!!!

 

HOWEVER: Be aware that when we were having problems with the Temperature in our Cabin (it was NOT cool) at 1:00am in the morning as my wife was very uncomfortable trying to sleep, the folks from Carnival came in with Meters and such and declared that it was cooling just fine because 74 deg F is 'their standard'!!! I explained that it was NOT my nor my wife's standard and we always sleep in a much cooler environment.

 

I build homes for living and understand A/C Units and the Carnival Magic was only cooling the Ambient Temp about 12.5 deg. A proper working A/C like in your home will cool 14 to 18 deg from Ambient to the Temp coming from the Outlet.

 

As they were telling me, after we returned, with my call to Customer Service to discuss about their "standard", I commented that they should put that Info on their WebSite so that persons that needed a cool environment so as to sleep comfortably could make a decision if they should go on Carnival or not. Yeah, I will be sure to hold my breath on seeing that on their WebSite!

 

So, if you like to sleep cool, go with another Cruise Line or ask questions that I never thought to ask before you pay your money. And for the record, the Thermostat does NOT keep up with the Temp in your Cabin, rather it is totally subjective and by turning it in the direction of being cooler, all it does is to open the dampner that allows more air to flow into the cabin, and the air is no cooler than anywhere else on board.

You just had a bad room.

[Sammycupcaker]

We were fine on Carnival glory last April but roasted on the Monarch of the Seas. They came and checked and said it was fine. Thankfully, we always bring a fan.

[Sh1035]

78 is the norm suggested here in Florida. But feels better then the 94 outside. Then again I am always in the ocean or the pool so never really noticed. Guess we just have the AC for,when we go to bed.

 

How do you Handel an excursion on a scorching day!

 

Also, I admit when I lived in dc and AC was so cheap we probably ran it at 75. But that's 3 months and not 9 at 700 a month.

[MandynJim]

We actually had the same problem this past weekend on the Paradise. Our room was about 10deg Warmer than the hall right outside but they said everything was fine. I get cold REALLY easy and even I was sweating.

[douglinc@msn.com]

We will be on the Magic 10-6, we'll see how the temp is.

[KITKAT0229]

Do they confiscate your fan in Galveston? We had ours taken when we cruised out of San Juan.

[chengkp75]

My wife grew up in a house that was 85 deg most of the time.

At 74 she is looking for a sweatshirt.

 

I don't know how much individual control a single room has over a ships AC system.

I would bet their system isn't individual units per cabin and the AC is shared.

The individual rooms sensors average out the temps in either initiate cooling or heating based on the average.

 

The above is just a guess... if I had specific information on the type of cabin HVAC that is used I could tell you how it works and why they do what they do.

I'm and HVAC controls engineer.

 

The A/C systems onboard are chilled water systems. There is three or fourlarge heat exchangers for all the cabins and public spaces within a vertical fire zone. No ductwork is allowed to cross fire zone boundaries. These air handlers generally are set to maintain a 68*F delivery air temperature.

 

The individual cabin thermostats work in one of two ways. One is to regulate the air damper, allowing more/less air flow to the cabin. The other way is that there is a small chilled water heat exchanger somewhere in the cabin (under the vanity is common), and the thermostat will start/stop a small fan for this heat exchanger.

 

The most common problem with the A/C is either air in the chilled water loop, or blocked filters in the air handlers. In Hawaii, we had problems with the aft balcony cabins on embarkation day, as the ship was always docked with the sun blasting into the aft cabins from the doors. Closing the curtains on the balcony doors fixed this.

 

When the companies talk of their "standard", this refers to room temperature, not delivery air temperature, and is the benchmark that corporate has set for whether compensation will be given for a hot room.

 

Also, opening the balcony doors generally shuts off the A/C for that cabin, and even on those ships where it doesn't, it interferes with the air flow for all the cabins in the area (ever feel the overpressure when walking down a passageway? most likely a balcony door open), which can drive up the temperatures in surrounding cabins.

 

Oops, sorry for essentially double posting, forgot I answered this back in June.:o

[eroller]

All the Carnival Corp. brands are under tremendous pressure to cut fuel costs. I feel that regulating the a/c a few degrees higher is one way that Carnival Cruise Lines and other Carnival Corp. brands are achieving fuel savings. Unfortunately it's not a very customer friendly policy.

 

My last cruise was on the BREEZE, and the cabin temperature was fine but often times the public areas (lounges, gym, dining room, etc) were quite warm to the point of being uncomfortable. Being a new ship I know there is the capability for increased cooling, but this is no longer the Carnival "standard".

[chengkp75]

All the Carnival Corp. brands are under tremendous pressure to cut fuel costs. I feel that regulating the a/c a few degrees higher is one way that Carnival Cruise Lines and other Carnival Corp. brands are achieving fuel savings. Unfortunately it's not a very customer friendly policy.

 

My last cruise was on the BREEZE, and the cabin temperature was fine but often times the public areas (lounges, gym, dining room, etc) were quite warm to the point of being uncomfortable. Being a new ship I know there is the capability for increased cooling, but this is no longer the Carnival "standard".

 

While I won't argue with your statement that all cruise lines are trying to save fuel costs, I really don't feel that is the reason for warm cabin complaints. About 70-80% of the energy used in the A/C system is constant, the fans are always running, and once you start the big 2Mw chillers, that is the largest energy, not whether it is running full out or at reduced load. When compared to the amount of fuel burned while at sea, any savings from reduced a/c would be almost infinitesimal. With a new ship like the Breeze, it appears that the system balancing for public spaces is not quite tuned in right, apparently the heat load from environment and humans is not equal to the calculations done at design. This can be easily remedied.

 

As I've said, the "standard" is the break point for compensation.

[eroller]

While I won't argue with your statement that all cruise lines are trying to save fuel costs, I really don't feel that is the reason for warm cabin complaints. About 70-80% of the energy used in the A/C system is constant, the fans are always running, and once you start the big 2Mw chillers, that is the largest energy, not whether it is running full out or at reduced load. When compared to the amount of fuel burned while at sea, any savings from reduced a/c would be almost infinitesimal. With a new ship like the Breeze, it appears that the system balancing for public spaces is not quite tuned in right, apparently the heat load from environment and humans is not equal to the calculations done at design. This can be easily remedied.

 

As I've said, the "standard" is the break point for compensation.

 

 

I'm no a/c expert, but I have been cruising for the past 30 years on just about every line. In the past the ships used to be quite cold, not so anymore. Now it seems (especially on Carnival Corp brands) the ships are on the verge of being too warm or are already too warm. Something has obviously changed and if it is purely coincidence so be it, but I'm guessing there is more to it. With all the technology today the ships should be more comfortable with better regulation of temperature, not the other way around.

 

In the past year or so I've never read so many posts about ship/cabin temperatures being too warm. Seems like more is going on than just a/c technicians not knowing how to properly regulate the temperature. I know HVAC systems are much more efficient today compared to older ships, but if the the result is a ship that is too warm I don't see that as a positive.

 

Living in Miami we are used to very warm conditions year round, but also a/c systems that work extremely well. It's rare you walk into any building in Miami and feel it's too warm. Maybe just the opposite. I suppose I may also be accustomed to interior temperatures that are cooler than people from other parts of the country.

 

Bottom line is that I haven't felt the warmer conditions on Royal Caribbean, NCL, Disney, or Celebrity but I have on Carnival and Princess. I'm sailing on the new ROYAL PRINCESS in a few months, and it will be interesting to see how the a/c operates. There are already some complaints about the ship being too warm on the Princess board, and this is a brand new ship.

[LHP]

We actually keep our home set at 74 during the summer....and it gets a little chilly during the day.

 

So while I understand some people like it cooler, I do not think 74 is unreasonable.

 

That being said, we have had cabins that were 78 - 80 and that was uncomfortable.

 

Both times it was an OV cabin on the Glory on MAIN. With the kitchen above us, I wondered if it was the ovens???)

 

(my travel clock as a thermometer on it)

[winddawn]

I have to tell you that just about everyone on the Magic was very friendly and did just about everything they could to make our Cruise enjoyable!!! But just because you are friendly does NOT solve problems!!!

 

HOWEVER: Be aware that when we were having problems with the Temperature in our Cabin (it was NOT cool) at 1:00am in the morning as my wife was very uncomfortable trying to sleep, the folks from Carnival came in with Meters and such and declared that it was cooling just fine because 74 deg F is 'their standard'!!! I explained that it was NOT my nor my wife's standard and we always sleep in a much cooler environment.

 

I build homes for living and understand A/C Units and the Carnival Magic was only cooling the Ambient Temp about 12.5 deg. A proper working A/C like in your home will cool 14 to 18 deg from Ambient to the Temp coming from the Outlet.

 

As they were telling me, after we returned, with my call to Customer Service to discuss about their "standard", I commented that they should put that Info on their WebSite so that persons that needed a cool environment so as to sleep comfortably could make a decision if they should go on Carnival or not. Yeah, I will be sure to hold my breath on seeing that on their WebSite!

 

So, if you like to sleep cool, go with another Cruise Line or ask questions that I never thought to ask before you pay your money. And for the record, the Thermostat does NOT keep up with the Temp in your Cabin, rather it is totally subjective and by turning it in the direction of being cooler, all it does is to open the dampner that allows more air to flow into the cabin, and the air is no cooler than anywhere else on board.

Sorry you had a bad experience. This problem has been brought up several times on this board, and from what I've read and experienced personally, 74 is actually a little cooler than what others have reported. Other reports have been about temps in the upper 70s in the cabins. This is one of Carnival's cutbacks to save money. I always cruise with my fan. It doesn't seem to bother some people, but it is too warm for many of us to sleep comfortably.

[happy cruzer]

So utility companies want control of your home thermostats,

 

imagine they will set them at 78 in the summer and 62 in the winter at the best.

 

Point being is that most need to start adapting to different temps every where.

[Artemus]

I was on the Carnival Pride last week and the room did not cool properly. You can push a button on the thermostat for Instant Cool and the fan speed increases and the cabin cools but it only lasted about 10 minutes and it would go back to the regular mode. I was not happy with the cabin temperature but lived with. Not good.

[Cruiser from MS]

I have never been so disappointed in Carnival. When I contacted them about my cabin temp the first time I never got a response. I contacted them again and they brushed it off saying their norms are 72 to 74. I have never had my cabin so warm. Such warm temps are doing nothing but breeding bacteria. It appears that Carnival does not care what their customers think if they did I would not have had to contact them twice concerning this problem. I think I will be looking for a new cruise line.

[Tyhunt]

Talked about this on one of our cruises in a balcony room. The gentleman we were talking to at dinner had a plausible explanation. he stated that it conserves fuel to raise the temp a bit and with that raise IF ,your room is located near the last 1/4 of the truck line for the ac, and some ahead of you sleep with their balcony door propped open to hear the ocean, they tend to turn their AC all the way down, which leaves little for the rooms at the end.

 

His solution was to find where the line comes up and get a room near the beginning of the line. Didn't tell me where the beginning of the line was though.

 

 

Just a theory.

[thebigtony]

On the other hand. 74 is almost too cool for us. Normally keep the house at 77 during the summer. (Can't imagine the energy bill if we kept it at 70 in Texas!)

 

And no we aren't older and getting cold all the time....

[S.S.Oceanlover]

On the other hand. 74 is almost too cool for us. Normally keep the house at 77 during the summer. (Can't imagine the energy bill if we kept it at 70 in Texas!)

 

And no we aren't older and getting cold all the time....

 

Our house has been on 73/74 all summer. When we cruised and our room was hot and they came with the tester and said it was within limits I was dumbfounded.

 

When you wake up in the middle of the night and you're covered in sweat, and the sheets are all wet something is wrong.

 

After 2 tries they did nothing. Finally the cabin steward got us a fan which made sleeping the rest of the cruise much better.

 

Bill

[babsee101]

On the other hand. 74 is almost too cool for us. Normally keep the house at 77 during the summer. (Can't imagine the energy bill if we kept it at 70 in Texas!)

 

And no we aren't older and getting cold all the time....

 

lol I live in Texas and choose to live in a small condo (1,000 sq. ft.) so I can afford to keep it at 68 to 70 degrees! Absolutely can not tolerate the heat! I sure hope our cabin on the Magic in September is cooler than about half of the posters say they are.

[cruise_crazy68]

I agree. I am not sure how anyone could say 74 is hot.

 

We were on the breeze a few weeks ago. The thermostat does not have #'s but we were cool enough and sometimes too cool. In fact I am almost always bordering on too cool on carnivals ships.

 

I would kill to have my house at 74!!!! I agree with you 74 is a very cool temp and our cabin on the Magic in Dec was cool as well we all slept with covers and DH loves it like that he was even under covers :rolleyes: . It is 1:15 CST and it is almost 100 outside already and humidity is awful today. Can't keep the house much cooler than 79 to 80 degrees til the sun goes down or I will have a HUGE electric bill it would run continuously to try to cool it much more than that.

 

I wish I was in the OP cabin on a ship at 74 degrees :D

[cruise_crazy68]

On the other hand. 74 is almost too cool for us. Normally keep the house at 77 during the summer. (Can't imagine the energy bill if we kept it at 70 in Texas!)

 

And no we aren't older and getting cold all the time....

 

It is running constantly to keep it at 78/79 today all I hear is $$$$$ when it is running........I would love a 74 degree cabin on a ship right now!!

[halos]

I'm a former Staff Chief Engineer on NCL's ships. Most of this will be for the folks who don't know much about HVAC. For the most part, the major A/C cooling is done in large "battery" rooms, that have cooling coils, fans, and ductwork that distribute the cool air to an entire fire zone of the ship. The ships all use a chilled water cooling system, where the refrigerant cools water in the engine room, and this water is pumped up to the air coolers throughout the ship.

 

The cabin thermostats do different things on different ships. On some ships, it is just a damper control, that regulates how much cool air you receive. A crude way to regulate individual room temp, but cost effective.

 

On other ships, there will be a small chilled water cooler located frequently under the vanity in the bathroom, that has a small fan that will recirculate the room air past the cooler as regulated by the cabin thermostat.

 

Also, one other feature is usually not mentioned to the passengers until they complain about the cabin temperature: when the balcony door is open, the A/C is shut off.

 

Inconsistent temperatures between cabins, or for the same cabin on different cruises, is usually a maintenance problem. There are air filters on the main air coolers, which can restrict the flow of air when dirty. The cabins with recirculation coolers in them will also have a filter that needs cleaning/changing regularly.

 

Certain environmental features will affect the ability of the A/C to keep up. We always had problems with the aft balcony cabins in Hawaii on embarkation day, as they faced south, and would soak up heat before the guests arrived. Simple solution, we closed the drapes that the hotel department liked to open to show off the balcony. If a cabin has exposed deck above it, it will generally be hotter. I know this should have been handled in the design stage, but as ships age, their a/c performance drops off.

 

The "standard" temperature that everyone is quoting is the cut-off point where compensation will be made for a hot cabin, not necessarily that the HVAC department isn't going to work on it.

 

A/C and room temperature is a very subjective thing, as can be seen by lots of the other posts here. Some are comfortable at temps where others are sweating like a steam bath.

 

I have a question...hope you can answer it.

I'm usually fine with cabin temps (sometimes, I'm too cold, but that is easily remedied). When I sailed RCI Explorer of The Seas, I ROASTED...not in my cabin (which happend to be an interior) but in all the public paces. The dining room was even an oven.

My thoughts on this were that this ship, which is absolutely gorgeous due to all the sea views from nearly everywhere, were the issue. All those windows just allow in all that sunlight; beautiful but creating heat. Do they take things like this into consideration when installing cooling systems on ships???? I swore I'd never sail that ship again because it was so hot everywhere on it.

 

When you wake up in the middle of the night and you're covered in sweat, and the sheets are all wet something is wrong.

 

For me, that's now menopause.

[A2Mich]

I would kill to have my house at 74!!!! I agree with you 74 is a very cool temp and our cabin on the Magic in Dec was cool as well we all slept with covers and DH loves it like that he was even under covers :rolleyes: . It is 1:15 CST and it is almost 100 outside already and humidity is awful today. Can't keep the house much cooler than 79 to 80 degrees til the sun goes down or I will have a HUGE electric bill it would run continuously to try to cool it much more than that.

 

I wish I was in the OP cabin on a ship at 74 degrees :D

 

As you have now found out that humidity and heat load are an air conditioners enemies. As an HVAC tech, when I was in Florida, an A/C might cool 18 degrees or less on a humid day. Here in Colorado, 20 degrees or better is not uncommon with single digit humidity levels. I can easily keep our house at 74 degrees even when it's 100 outside, Not that I do that regularly, but it can be done.

[misguidedangel]

I am naturally warm at night, and at home I rarely turn the heat on in winter. If it is -25C (brrr freaking cold in Fahrenheit). I find I am roasting under my thin quilt at home and kick it off during the night. On the ship I have the AC on high and within an hour or two I have kicked off the quilt and sleep with the sheet only and that is much better. Every spring my quilt goes away and I just sleep with the sheet only (loose, not tucked in)......I'm tempted to tell the room steward to take the quilt off and just leave a light blanket instead!!!!

 

Everyone's temperature tolerance is different, so if it isn't cold enough, bring a fan or sleep with the just the sheet only.