Will Never Sail P&O Again,

[gaechann]

Yes we were on that cruise. Apart from the noise we had a fantastic time. It made it a bit hard to have a nap after a big day before having a long night.

 

We were an inside cabin near the rear of the ship. That said there was no movement to speak of at all.

 

From what I have found out since the other P&O ships have their kids clubs well away from any cabins.

 

I'm a bit apprehensive about sailing with P&O but the itinery to the Southern States including Port Lincoln and Kangaroo Island sold me. We will be on Pacific Pearl but down on Deck 5 I think it is so hopefully not too many noise issues down there.

 

I have a folder with me with all the ship's deck plans obtained from travel agents brochures over the years so pore over them before making a booking.

 

Hope you enjoy your next cruise.

 

Gae

[sir-magoo]

I agree that you need to thoroughly research your cabin, best way that I found is to paste a screen shot of every floor above each-other, then align and re-size them to align all stairs and elevators. You can be very accurate this way.

 

Interestingly, we just came back from a cruise on Freedom of the Seas. We were directly under the buffet restaurant, which i would usually avoid, but booked it anyway and never heard even the slightest bit of noise from above. They must have great sound control between the floors on those new RC ships.

[MicCanberra]

I agree that you need to thoroughly research your cabin, best way that I found is to paste a screen shot of every floor above each-other, then align and re-size them to align all stairs and elevators. You can be very accurate this way.

 

 

Great advice,

Research the cabins thoroughly, also some cruise lines (X do) have sticky's for cabins on all their ships on this forum.:D

[Fletch1]

Sorry to hear of your problem.

 

Make sure you put a review on cruise critic of the cabin so others can be aware of the problem.

[MMDown Under]

I feel for you big time. We have had noisy cabins in the past too, and the standard answer is always that nobody else has complained. I don't understand why they don't just designate these types of locations as possible noise areas and knock a little off the price, and some people would not be worried by the noise and would be glad to take them on. I personally would prefer obstructed view to noise.

 

Ear plugs, which we have used several times for sea and land accommodation, are a good backup, but I find them uncomfortable. I can sleep in my comfortable bed at home without ear plugs, I don't need to pay good money to be uncomfortable.

 

I think if they would just admit that there may be noise issues from time to time and give you a complementary $2 set of earplugs, then you would at least feel like you have not been taken for a fool. That is what I hate the most, and that is what I get from your post. You find their attitude to be condescending?

 

Take care with looking at deck plans, they are not always to the same scale from deck to deck, but we check around the stairs and lifts to compare what is over us.

 

I agree with your comments.

 

I think known noisy cabins should cost less and cruisers should be advised in advance that these cabins can be noisy, which is why they are less expensive. A bit like ocean view and obstructed ocean view, so cruisers are forewarned and not disappointed with their cabin.

[rkmw]

I agree with your comments.

 

I think known noisy cabins should cost less and cruisers should be advised in advance that these cabins can be noisy, which is why they are less expensive. A bit like ocean view and obstructed ocean view, so cruisers are forewarned and not disappointed with their cabin.

 

some people are not in their cabin very much so any noise problems up till 10pm wouldnt bother them but you get the OP that like being in their cabin during the day and go to bed early

[RickT]

I stopped cruising with Princess a few years ago for a similar reason. We had a problem with young children (under the age of 12 or so) in a cabin by themselves next to ours. Even though it violated Princess policy they wouldn't do anything about it other than say no one else had complained.

 

I wrote a long letter to Princess afterwards and I wasn't offered anything other than an apology. I'm not sure what they could have done as our cruise was miserable when we were in the cabin and an offer of an OBC wouldn't have changed that.

 

We've since done 4 cruises on Celebrity and almost want to thank Princess for not dealing with our problem. We've had great luck on Celebrity and have our fingers crossed that we don't run into anything similar.

 

Problems occur, it's how people and companies deal with them that determine whether or not a customer will remain loyal.

 

Good luck with whichever cruiseline you choose to go with.

[Tomo72]

some people are not in their cabin very much so any noise problems up till 10pm wouldnt bother them but you get the OP that like being in their cabin during the day and go to bed early

 

I made a point of being out on deck at 6am coming in to each port to enjoy the experience fully. Then after a full day out and about in the blazing sun decided an hour or so nap was a good idea so we could be up till the small hours next day.

 

Thats why the noise pissed me off so much as it made sleep impossible.

 

I am also about 40 odd years from needing a zimmer frame, and have cruised 8 times so know about "normal" noise experience onboard.

Edited January 3, 2014 by Tomo72

[MMDown Under]

I stopped cruising with Princess a few years ago for a similar reason. We had a problem with young children (under the age of 12 or so) in a cabin by themselves next to ours. Even though it violated Princess policy they wouldn't do anything about it other than say no one else had complained.

 

I wrote a long letter to Princess afterwards and I wasn't offered anything other than an apology. I'm not sure what they could have done as our cruise was miserable when we were in the cabin and an offer of an OBC wouldn't have changed that.

 

We've since done 4 cruises on Celebrity and almost want to thank Princess for not dealing with our problem. We've had great luck on Celebrity and have our fingers crossed that we don't run into anything similar.

 

Problems occur, it's how people and companies deal with them that determine whether or not a customer will remain loyal.

Good luck with whichever cruiseline you choose to go with.

 

I agree.

[MicCanberra]

I stopped cruising with Princess a few years ago for a similar reason. We had a problem with young children (under the age of 12 or so) in a cabin by themselves next to ours. Even though it violated Princess policy they wouldn't do anything about it other than say no one else had complained.

 

I wrote a long letter to Princess afterwards and I wasn't offered anything other than an apology. I'm not sure what they could have done as our cruise was miserable when we were in the cabin and an offer of an OBC wouldn't have changed that.

 

We've since done 4 cruises on Celebrity and almost want to thank Princess for not dealing with our problem. We've had great luck on Celebrity and have our fingers crossed that we don't run into anything similar.

 

Problems occur, it's how people and companies deal with them that determine whether or not a customer will remain loyal.

 

Good luck with whichever cruiseline you choose to go with.

 

Yes, it really is how situations are dealt with that make companies stand above the others.:D

[rkmw]

I made a point of being out on deck at 6am coming in to each port to enjoy the experience fully. Then after a full day out and about in the blazing sun decided an hour or so nap was a good idea so we could be up till the small hours next day.

 

Thats why the noise pissed me off so much as it made sleep impossible.

 

I am also about 40 odd years from needing a zimmer frame, and have cruised 8 times so know about "normal" noise experience onboard.

 

going by your OP i thought you spent a bit of time in your cabin but this post up at 6am and enjoying the full day on deck and down for an hours nap

 

we have cruised a lot more times than you and we have had good cabins and not so good ones, our last cruise it was on princess and we got a cabin on deck 5 but we got some noises coming from down below so any cruise you go on you will get noises

[Mobi Cruiser]

The first rule of Customer Relations and customer complaints is to deny everything! Hopefully the complainant will go away and your workload will not increase. I always check the deck plans to see what is directly over our cabin before locking it in. It may be getting off the thread but here is an example of how to avoid work by denying a complaint or request.

Some years back when Pacific Sky was re-positioning out of Australia to Asia the cruise left Melbourne for Singapore via Adelaide and Perth. The ship wasn't full and they had sectored the voyage and there were quite a lot of travel agents and their families getting on to go over to Perth. We met one couple who were enjoying themselves so much they decided to inquire if there was space to continue on and go up to Singapore. They went down to the Pursers Desk only to be told that the ship was full and they would have to get off. They contacted their daughter who got in touch with their travel agent who said there were stacks of berths available. Back down the Pursers Desk to get the same response- ship is full.

So they packed their bags and on the way into Fremantle they phoned the travel agent who booked them a cabin for the cruise to Singapore. They got off, waited around a couple of hours and then got back on to a different cabin. We all had a great time going 'Up Top' despite P&O's efforts. Cheers to Bob and Millie if you read this thread.

[Aus Traveller]

Some years back when Pacific Sky was re-positioning out of Australia to Asia the cruise left Melbourne for Singapore via Adelaide and Perth. The ship wasn't full and they had sectored the voyage and there were quite a lot of travel agents and their families getting on to go over to Perth. We met one couple who were enjoying themselves so much they decided to inquire if there was space to continue on and go up to Singapore. They went down to the Pursers Desk only to be told that the ship was full and they would have to get off. They contacted their daughter who got in touch with their travel agent who said there were stacks of berths available. Back down the Pursers Desk to get the same response- ship is full.

So they packed their bags and on the way into Fremantle they phoned the travel agent who booked them a cabin for the cruise to Singapore. They got off, waited around a couple of hours and then got back on to a different cabin. We all had a great time going 'Up Top' despite P&O's efforts. Cheers to Bob and Millie if you read this thread.

Maybe the Purser's Desk wasn't the place to go to book the next cruise. If there was a Future Cruise Consultant person on board, I'm sure they could have organised the booking.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Maybe the Purser's Desk wasn't the place to go to book the next cruise. If there was a Future Cruise Consultant person on board, I'm sure they could have organised the booking.

 

I think at that time the ship may have been passing over to new "owners or operators" , so that may have been part of it.

[MicCanberra]

I think at that time the ship may have been passing over to new "owners or operators" , so that may have been part of it.

 

Very odd.

There must have been a reason other than going to the wrong place or else the purser would direct you to the right area. They obviously didn't want to sell the next leg to the customer.:D

[StevenW]

I understand you're unhappy with how P&O Australia dealt with the issue, however I'm not sure what they could have done, after the point where their booking agent made a mistake and booked you a cabin in a spot where most of us would have recognised there would be noise for you.

 

As other have said, it's very important to study deckplans yourself before booking.

 

If you can't review deskplans electronically, walk into a TA office and ask for a brochure for that cruise line, which I believe contain deck plans.

 

Like many of us, I'm also very sensitive to noise from above & elsewhere, so when picking a cabin, I check deckplans for:

 

- noise from above (ensure there are other cabins above your cabin, and not a common area walking area, or some ship operational area. Sure you can get noise from other cabins above, however the frequency would be 1% of the noise generated from a common area or operational area of the ship); and

 

- noise through side walls. select a cabin with cabins on both sides, which helps to avoid being next to a lift, crew areas, aircon units, or a multitude of other noise-generating things which could be next door to you.

 

- noise from outside the door. Select cabins with other cabins opposite, so you're away from common areas where people often stand and talk/laugh etc (eg areas where people wait for lifts). This helps avoid the risk of finding a crew access door opposite your cabin. One on cruise, crew were constantly going in/out of a door opposite my cabin; at times they'd leave the door open which resulted in more noise when they were taking inside; and on the final night crew were taking all the baggage through this door which generated some noise. I learnt from that.

 

- not too far forward (extra movement / sound of ship pushing through waves);

 

- not too far back (extra vibration from engines on some ships);

 

Doing your own investigation is important to mitigate these risks.

 

Happy Cruising:)

[gaechann]

The first rule of Customer Relations and customer complaints is to deny everything! Hopefully the complainant will go away and your workload will not increase. I always check the deck plans to see what is directly over our cabin before locking it in. It may be getting off the thread but here is an example of how to avoid work by denying a complaint or request.

Some years back when Pacific Sky was re-positioning out of Australia to Asia the cruise left Melbourne for Singapore via Adelaide and Perth. The ship wasn't full and they had sectored the voyage and there were quite a lot of travel agents and their families getting on to go over to Perth. We met one couple who were enjoying themselves so much they decided to inquire if there was space to continue on and go up to Singapore. They went down to the Pursers Desk only to be told that the ship was full and they would have to get off. They contacted their daughter who got in touch with their travel agent who said there were stacks of berths available. Back down the Pursers Desk to get the same response- ship is full.

So they packed their bags and on the way into Fremantle they phoned the travel agent who booked them a cabin for the cruise to Singapore. They got off, waited around a couple of hours and then got back on to a different cabin. We all had a great time going 'Up Top' despite P&O's efforts. Cheers to Bob and Millie if you read this thread.

 

Cheers to you fellow Coffs Harbour cruisers! :D

 

Gae

[Sfdtiller]

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You cannot view deck plans from apple devices on the P&O website so we were reliant on their information being honest/accurate.

 

.

 

 

!

 

 

Try the app called shipmate. Great app for viewing deck plans, the pic is from my iPad

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[MMDown Under]

Try the app called shipmate. Great app for viewing deck plans, the pic is from my iPad

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Please share more about this handy app for checking deck plans.

 

I can see that I need to take some lessons/or do some research to just keep up with all this new technology.

[By The Bay]

Please share more about this handy app for checking deck plans.

 

I can see that I need to take some lessons/or do some research to just keep up with all this new technology.

I have it on my Samsung. Downloaded for free from the Play Store (app store). Click on Play Store, search for "Ship Mate", download and install.:)

Edited January 4, 2014 by By The Bay

[MicCanberra]

I have it on my Samsung. Downloaded for free from the Play Store (app store). Click on Play Store, search for "Ship Mate", download and install.:)

 

Thanks for the tip on the app.:D

[Sfdtiller]

Please share more about this handy app for checking deck plans.

 

I can see that I need to take some lessons/or do some research to just keep up with all this new technology.

 

It is in the App store, just type in ship mate, it should be the first app that pops up, it will say Cruise Ship Mate - Carnival Cruises.....

It shows more than just Carnival corp ships though, It also has NCL, Disney and all RCL brands.

[MicCanberra]

It is in the App store, just type in ship mate, it should be the first app that pops up, it will say Cruise Ship Mate - Carnival Cruises.....

It shows more than just Carnival corp ships though, It also has NCL, Disney and all RCL brands.

 

Great, thanks for the info, will come in handy.:D

[Tomo72]

Thanks for the tip.

[karmac]

As others have said, do your own research before booking. Most people you speak to on the phone probably haven't actually cruised so unless they've personally heard the complaint before, they wouldn't know.

On one of our cruises, we were directly opposite Turtle Cove. Never heard any noise but then again, we don't spend the days in our cabin so it possibly was noisy during the day.