RC Brilliance of seas, booked but now found terrible reviews of our cabin, what to do

[buzzlightyear27]

Hi,

We are sailing on our first cruise in June, RC Brilliance of the seas in the Baltics.

When booking our cabin, it was a case of there are 2 cabins with a balcony left. We are deck 7 aft restricted view balcony. I have now found three terrible reviews of our exact cabin, late night noise from bar below and the obstructed view is more like 50% and not 30% we thought.

I appreciate we chose this room out of the last 2, and we should have booked earlier (lesson learnt!), and the holiday will be as good as we make it, but this is our first cruise, trip of lifetime celebrating my 30th birthday and I am now worrying.

Does anyone have any tips or advice? (Apart from earplugs!).

 

Thank you!

[yayvacation!]

Hi,

We are sailing on our first cruise in June, RC Brilliance of the seas in the Baltics.

When booking our cabin, it was a case of there are 2 cabins with a balcony left. We are deck 7 aft restricted view balcony. I have now found three terrible reviews of our exact cabin, late night noise from bar below and the obstructed view is more like 50% and not 30% we thought.

I appreciate we chose this room out of the last 2, and we should have booked earlier (lesson learnt!), and the holiday will be as good as we make it, but this is our first cruise, trip of lifetime celebrating my 30th birthday and I am now worrying.

Does anyone have any tips or advice? (Apart from earplugs!).

 

Thank you!

 

Sorry to hear there were bad reviews!!

 

I would check the website everyday to see if other cabins in your category open up as you get closer to booking, then call in and change your cabin location if anything comes up.

 

Another option is to check out the cabin situation and pricing after final payment is due. Often cabins will open up when people cancel or change their bookings, and sometimes the prices drop low enough on higher cabin categories to justify upgrading.

 

Best bet is to be diligent in checking cabin availability.

 

Good luck!!

[cb at sea]

I don't believe you have a "restricted view"....what it is is a ladder to the window washing platform...it's ABOVE your head, and while you can see it, it will NOT block any of your view. It's a non-issue!

 

Can't help with noise issues there might be, but earplugs can,or a white noise machine! Or, go to the club and be part of the party. Do NOT stress over this! You will be just fine!

[buzzlightyear27]

Hi yayvacation and cb at sea, thanks for your comments.

Cb at sea, I have no idea what the restriction is, although looking at a picture of the ship it did look similar to a ladder I guess. If this is the case that would be fine. I also heard our balcony may be extended being in the end?

Yayvacation, I'm bemused... I just took your advice, went on RC website and searched cabins and there are now LOTS of others available!?? All be it circa £300 more than what I paid for ours.. Is it normal for people to cancel their cabins?

Haha, I would definitely be up for joining the party, boyfriend not so much though!

[kitty9]

People switch cabins all the time. Just make sure you don't have to pay any kind of change fee for this.

[chicago or bust]

dont be so petty! a vacation with loved ones is worth so much more than the details of 1 room. if that is the focus of your trip thats terrible. think of all the other things you could enjoy doing. drop the negative energy or it will carry over to rest of the trip.

 

last summer i shared in the experience of having a room above the bar/dance club, it was rough the first couple nights. eventually falling asleep around 2am. but i soon learned a couple tylenol pm's helped for a good nights rest. the noise didnt bother me at all, it comes with the territory. but like you said you live and you learn. overall it was one of the best vacations i ever had.

 

on the 2nd day so many of my fellow neighbors complained to the concierge that for the next five nights the dj turned the bass down to a minimum, which helped slightly. but they do make an effort.

 

btw you have plenty of time to try to switch or upgrade. my family gains the biggest discount by booking a couple months in advance and then calling the cruise line 2 weeks from the sail date to see if any reservations were changed. we had a inside family cabin 2 weeks from sail. we called and they offered a upgrade for 600 to a balcony cabin, we declined. 1 week out we called and they offered a family balcony cabin for 300. so the booking not really over until you board the ship. stay proactive and maybe you can resolve these worries of yours.

Edited February 5, 2014 by chicago or bust

[LMaxwell]

dont be so petty! a vacation with loved ones is worth so much more than the details of 1 room. if that is the focus of your trip thats terrible. think of all the other things you could enjoy doing. drop the negative energy or it will carry over to rest of the trip.

 

 

I didn't get that impression from the OP at all. They learned of a deficiency and are asking what they can do or if they can resolve it. She is looking to avoid a situation like yours (up late, listening to complaining neighbors, etc.). A lot of new cruisers don't necessarily understand about cabin locations and such. They are here to learn.

 

The minor obstruction would bother me less than the noise; although I tend to be out and if not creating the noise, watching it be created. Take a look at the deck plans and see what else may be below you that has an open cabin to move to.

[Sue Do-Over]

We actively look for restricted view cabins, they're often a better price than other similarly sized cabins.

 

That's the trade-off for a deal... the OP said she knew/expected 30% obstructed but is hearing 50%... meaning she knew about it before booking.

 

My favorite, 4K/french door/obstructed view. It's behind the lifeboats... look for the one aligned with the davit (the big hook the lifeboat hangs from). You'll see sea, sky and shore, and the door opens. It's the same size as a balcony room, but priced like an inside.

[Langley Cruisers]

dont be so petty!....

 

Wow, so uncalled for. We carefully choose the exact cabin we want based on several factors, and we are not being "petty" by doing this. Gee. :( OP politely asked what s/he should do and your response is really rude.